Calendar Girl
by Blue Stone Shining Wolf
Summary: After the Slitheen, Rose decides to travel with the Doctor full time but regrets the year she missed. Tailoring their destinations around annual events might help, but is it too domestic for the Doctor? And will Rose adjust to the non-linear nature of time travel? Integrates with Series 1 through Series 2 Ep 1. Most chapters can more-or-less stand alone as one-shot holiday stories.
1. Chapter 1 - Wonderland

**Calendar Girl**

**Disclaimer: **Doctor Who and all characters are property of the BBC. I do not own them nor make any money from them. I only spin stories for my own amusement and the entertainment of others. Any original characters are mine.

**Chapter 1 – Wonderland**

"Got enough stuff?" the leather-clad Doctor asked the young blonde who was removing a large red rucksack from her back.

"Last time I stepped in there," Rose Tyler answered, referring to the Tardis, the Doctor's police-box-shaped time machine, "it was spur of the moment." She thrust the heavy bag into his arms. "Now I'm signing up." She pointed at him and smiled." You're stuck with me. Ha!"

Rose then turned to her boyfriend, "Mickey-the-Idiot", and asked him to come along. "Idiot" was probably not the best nickname anymore, considering how much help Mickey had been with the Slitheen invasion, but the name had stuck. However, he was an idiot for letting Rose leave without him. Right before Rose and her mother had walked over to the Tardis, the Doctor had invited Mickey to come along. But Mickey said he couldn't handle that sort of life and asked the Doctor not to tell Rose. So the Doctor had to interrupt Rose's request and pretend that Mickey was not welcome. Rose didn't seem to mind much, and the quick kiss goodbye that she gave him was not one that indicated a sorrowful farewell. This pleased the Doctor more than it probably should have.

Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler, expressed her unease about Rose leaving by challenging him about her safety. He caught something about light years and being stuck on some moon, but the Doctor was not fully listening. He was still pondering the significance of the rucksack. When the Doctor had returned Rose to London in the year 2006 instead of 2005, he worried that Rose might be persuaded to stay with her mother out of a sense of guilt. That fear grew when Rose told him that Jackie wanted to cook a meal for them. He would not do domestic, but he also did not want to leave without Rose. He enticed her with the wonders of the universe, but when Rose didn't come running like before, the Doctor worried she might not come at all. Then he saw her heading toward the Tardis with that rucksack, and the worry left him. Not only had Rose Tyler decided to come with him again, she had packed for an extended journey. He couldn't explain why this was such a relief. After all, she was just a nineteen-year-old human, and he had only known her a short time. But he had already grown accustomed to having her around and did not want to ponder the idea of traveling without her.

Rose said her goodbyes to her mother, and the Doctor and Rose entered the Tardis.

"So where to?" asked the Doctor once the Tardis had dematerialized. "Your wish is my command—within reason."

"I don't know. Somewhere fun and different from home, I guess," said Rose.

The Doctor thought a moment then set the coordinates. The Tardis flew through the Time Vortex to their next adventure.

"Here we are," he said later as he opened the Tardis doors. "The forest moon of Edron. Earth year 1003 AD."

"So this is the past, but in space," said Rose slowly as she walked out of the Tardis and took in the sight of the evergreens that surrounded them.

"It is," the Doctor said as he followed Rose out of the Tardis. The trees of Edron were over three hundred feet tall and grew in such close proximity to one another that the forest floor was as dark as early evening though the sky above the towering giants was bright and blue. The Doctor leaned against one of the trees and crossed his arms, pleased at the look of awe on his companion's face. He breathed in the fresh air then shook his head slightly. "Sadly, it will all be gone soon. We're here just one year before it's discovered by explorers and stripped for all its natural resources."

"That's horrible," said Rose with a frown. Then she did a double take and looked at the Doctor. "Wait! Did you say _Edron_? A moon covered in trees? That sounds a lot like—"

"Endor?" finished the Doctor, smirking. "Sometimes writers aren't aware that part of their creation is actually a faint memory of a story heard elsewhere. The universe is filled with tales of a lost forest moon. The story of its destruction has made it into the parables of many planets, including yours. You lot even have a rhyming children's book about it. The trees in the illustrations are wrong, though, and the furry creature in it is complete fiction. Still—same basic idea."

"So I am guessing are there are no teddy bear warriors then either?" Rose said. She smiled with her tongue peeking out from between her teeth.

The Doctor laughed. "No, but there _is_ a perfect Christmas tree just beyond those trees," he said walking over to her and pointing in front of them to a dense part of the forest. "It's the only tree that didn't get cut down. Five hundred years in your future, humans will discover it and begin decorating it every year for Christmas. And that will start a movement to replant this moon."

As he was talking, Rose walked a couple of paces ahead. She had lost the playfulness from a moment ago and seemed pensive.

"Christmas," she said sadly, looking down. Then she turned around and walked back into the Tardis without a word.

The Doctor had no idea what to make of that response, so he followed her in and shut the door. He also had no idea what to say. He searched her face for understanding and waited for her to talk.

"I lost a year of my life," Rose said with tears in her eyes.

So that was the reason for the mood change.

"No you didn't," said the Doctor. "You just skipped ahead a year in your timeline. You missed a year in London's history, not a year in your life."

"And how exactly is that different?" asked Rose. There was an angry edge to her voice that the Doctor did not like. Worse, he didn't understand it. They had joked about the missed year, and he thought everything was fine. Apparently she had not thoroughly processed the idea. Apes and their linear thought patterns! How could he explain it to her?

He sighed. "To _lose_ a year of your life, you would have to have lived that year but not been able to experience or remember it—such as having amnesia or being unconscious. But that is not what happened."

"But I can't go back to London 2005 to live that year, can I?" she challenged him.

"No," admitted the Doctor.

"So I lost that year."

"Rose, you have not lost a year. You are living it _now_. You are no longer traveling in a straight line, following one day with the next, but you are still very much living your year. You are just doing so in a different time and place." This was not that complicated (even for a human), so why was this bothering her so much?

"But I missed things I could have come back for: birthdays, holidays, seasons. I missed twelve months of those things!"

"And that matters to you?" asked the Doctor, dumfounded. "All of time and space is at your disposal, and you still need to mark time by festivals in England, on Earth, in 2005?"

Rose nodded.

The Doctor was annoyed. He had assumed Rose was different than the rest of the humans that mindlessly ate their beans and toast, watched the telly, and never looked at the stars. Maybe he should have left her behind with the Idiot. Then he remembered everything they had gone through so far. She had accepted so many things without needing much time for adjustment: aliens, time travel, danger, and more. Even the fact that he was 900 years old and a Time Lord didn't seem to faze her. Perhaps he should try to be understanding and let her adjust to the shock of this more personal aspect of time travel.

Rose wiped her eyes with her sleeve and avoided the Doctor's gaze. He walked over to the console and stared at his screen just to have something to look at. The Doctor had forgotten the complications of traveling with humans. It occurred to him that he would have to re-set the Tardis controls to take human sleep and nutrition cycles into account. Then he realized Rose would likely want to mark the passing of time according to her linear perspective, so he would also have to add an algorithm to integrate her linear calendar with the relative time of the Tardis. As he made the adjustments, he decided to include a notification system to alert him to the national holidays of the United Kingdom as they occurred. It felt a bit stifling and domestic, but traveling with an unhappy companion wasn't pleasant either.

The Doctor knew that just noting the passing of those milestones would not be enough for Rose. But he also couldn't take her back to her home to experience those dates because she couldn't cross her own timeline. He wondered if she would accept reasonable substitutes.

Suddenly, the Doctor had an idea. "I have somewhere to take you," he said. His grin went from ear to ear. He really hoped it would work.

* * *

It was a new day and a new planet, and despite her tears from the night before, Rose Tyler was glad she had decided to keep traveling with the Doctor. There was danger and—as she was learning—heartache, but it was worth it just to know that she was a part of something bigger than her small life in a dress shop.

Rose marveled at her surroundings. She supposed that she might be willing to miss even another year (or two or three) of consecutive time if it meant experiencing more days like this. She couldn't decide what was more beautiful, the sight of countless rows of tulips in many colors as they swayed in the breeze, or the sound of those same tulips singing. Rows and rows of flowers almost identical in size and shape to Earth tulips stretched out as far as she could see in all directions. She was reminded of the pictures she had seen of the Netherlands; but in addition to red, pink, purple, orange, and yellow blooms there were bicolor and tricolor blooms and blooms of iridescent colors that seemed to defy labeling. Words like "ultraviolet" and "infrared" came to her mind, but she was fairly certain humans could not see those colors.

These tulips were even more extraordinary because they were a feast for the ears as well as the eyes. Rose closed her eyes and could imagine herself at an outdoor concert consisting of woodwinds and a choir. There was an ever-changing melody with multiple notes sounding at once. Some sounded like instruments, but others sounded almost like human voices.

"So is this Wonderland, then?" Rose joked to the Doctor, who was standing beside her.

The Doctor shifted his attention from the garden to his companion. "Wonderland?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you know—with the White Rabbit and the garden of singing flowers. I could even be Alice, what with my blond hair and this blue dress and white pinafore you had me wear."

The Doctor smiled. His blue eyes matched the sky that surrounded them and shone with merriment. "Actually we are in the countryside of Melunia on the planet Sirig. Most of the planet is uninhabitable. It has large polar ice caps, vast deserts with killer sandstorms, and enormous oceans with regular hurricanes. Melunia is the only land mass that supports life; and because it is on the equator, it is always spring."

"A land with singing flowers, where it is always springtime? That sounds like a wonderland to me," said Rose. "So I suppose I am in fancy-dress to add to the storybook effect?"

The Doctor grinned and shook his head. "The outfit you are wearing is the traditional attire for the Festival of Songflowers. The blue dress represents the blue sky and the white pinafore represents the clouds that water the land. And the flowers don't sing, Rose. The flowers are vessels that collect the rainwater. During the breezy season, winds blow over the tops of the flowers to produce a melodic sound."

"But it is perfectly in tune," protested Rose.

"The three different sizes of flowers create a three note triad in which each note compliments one another. It's simple science and harmonics," explained the Doctor.

"Maybe," said Rose, "but it I bet it isn't a science lesson that causes people to have a yearly festival." Rose looked around and noticed they were the only people present. "If this is a festival, where is everyone?"

"The gates to the gardens will open soon," said the Doctor, pointing off to his left and right at gates that could barley be seen at the edges of the horizon. "We arrived a bit early."

"You mean we jumped the queue," she said with a grin.

The Doctor shrugged. Minutes later, people began filling in from both sides until all the pathways and viewing areas were filled. Unlike the very alien-looking guests that Rose had encountered on a space station above Earth, the people of Melunia looked as human as the Doctor and she. (However, it was still a bit surreal that he was not actually a human, but a 900-year-old alien who only _appeared_ to be about forty earth-years old, and whose accent did not originate in northern England, despite how it sounded.) The only thing unique about the people of Melunia was their attire. The women and girls wore some variation of a blue dress and pinafore while the men wore pastel outfits that looked something like lederhosen. The Doctor stood out in his black jeans, black leather jacket, and aubergine jumper, but Rose had a hard time imaging him in the indigenous clothing. The thought of the Doctor in lavender-and-pink lederhosen made Rose giggle.

Rose and the Doctor stayed for the entire festival. A real orchestra showed up and played a concerto that complimented the music of the flowers. Dancers moved about the gardens choreographed to the rhythm of the wind. People brought canvases and painted the scenery. Refreshments were offered freely to all guests. Brightly colored hot air balloons offered an aerial view of the events. After days of danger and running, Rose was thankful for a day of peaceful fun.

Hours later, the Doctor and Rose returned to the Tardis. Rose was smiling from ear to ear. It had been a perfect day, and she hoped days like that one outnumbered the ones in which she was running for her life.

"So?" asked the Doctor "Would this count as a holiday?"

Rose gave him a confused look and shrugged. "Well we are definitely abroad, so I suppose that makes it a holiday." She swayed and twirled in her full-skirted storybook dress to enjoy the novelty of it a bit longer, but she was ready to change back into her regular clothes.

The Doctor shook his head, "I mean does it count as a holiday for your missed year?"

Rose stopped her swirling to think. "Which holiday?"

"I was thinking Easter," said the Doctor. "Easter is a spring holiday and that's about where you left off, isn't it?"

Rose wasn't sure why, but her face flushed. "Is that why we came here?"

* * *

The Doctor smiled as Rose swayed in her festival outfit. He knew she had considered the dress and pinafore juvenile at first, but when he had insisted she wear it, she trusted him and put on the outfit. He was pleased to see that her willingness to fully embrace the festival had cheered her up. He liked seeing Rose happy like this and would gladly commit to an entire Earth year of holidays in consecutive order if it produced the same results that today had.

"Melunia is the land of springtime, and spring is when you left to travel with me," the Doctor said to her. He paused. His blue eyes looked into her brown ones. "Rose, I can't take you back on your own timeline. It would cause a paradox. But we can still move through your calendar of holidays and events, if you want. Just let me know which ones matter most and we will try to do them in order."

"Thank you," she said quietly. She was silent for a moment, as if she were in deep thought, then she grinned mischievously. "Melunia may count as a spring festival, but it isn't Easter without chocolate eggs. Know of a place where I can get those?"

"As a matter of a fact, I do," said the Doctor. He began setting coordinates and pulling levers. "Just you wait. This is going to be fantastic!"


	2. Chapter 2 Rose and the Chocolate Factory

**Calendar Girl**

Note: This is a much longer chapter than the first. I considered splitting it into two, but could not find a good place to break. So get comfortable before you begin. Or you can use one of the page breaks as a temporary stopping point. Also, I do have a basic direction and idea for this whole "Calendar Year" but I would still love feedback and ideas. Yours might be better than mine! (Plus the more you reply the more motivated I am to post regularly :) )

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Rose and the Chocolate Factory**

Rose watched the time rotor move up and down within the clear cylinder. The motion and green glow was so mesmerizing that she almost forgot that she needed to talk to the Doctor before they reached their next destination. He moved so fast from place to place that it left her little time to adjust or to do normal things like eat and use the loo.

The Doctor was alternating between repeatedly flipping some small lever and reaching sideways to push a green button. Rose wondered how the console of random buttons, levers, and dials managed to control anything.

"Doctor," Rose started.

"Rose!" said the Doctor brightly, "See that large lever to you right? Pull it downward and hold it there."

"Um, okay," said Rose, doing as she was asked.

The Doctor continued toggling the small lever and pushing the button while he checked the monitor. The display looked like fancy circles to Rose, but it was apparently very important to the Doctor.

Rose tried again. "Where are we headed exactly?"

"Not sure!" the Doctor answered brightly.

Rose didn't quite like this answer. He had a tendency to get the time or date wrong and she didn't know if it was better or worse to wing it.

"Do you know approximately, then?" asked Rose hopefully.

"Haven't decided yet," said the Doctor, not taking his eyes of the screen, except to make sure he found the button he was pushing.

Rose's felt her stomach grumble. The food at the festival on Melunia was plentiful enough to cover both breakfast and lunch, but enough time had elapsed that, according to her body, it was long past tea time. Rose knew that the Doctor ate and loved a variety of food, but he apparently did not need it as regularly as a human. Rose also realized that the Doctor did not need to rest as often as she did and therefore was also likely not aware that in a few hours she would be craving her warm bed in her room on the Tardis more than the adventure outside its doors.

The Tardis jolted to the side and the time rotor stood still. Wherever they were, the Tardis had arrived.

"Are you ready?" asked the Doctor offering his arm.

"Yes, but…um…I was thinking it might be nice to eat before we do…whatever," she said. "And I've been in this thing," she said, sweeping her hands from shoulder to foot, "all day. I was hoping I could change into something else."

The Doctor furrowed his brow in thought as he looked at Rose's dress. "What you have on is fine. It's close enough to fit in where we are—a bit anachronistic, but not too far off."

Rose's disappointment must have shown.

"If you'd rather change, though…" the Doctor said without finishing.

"'S all right, if it's just going to be similar to this, I might as well not bother," Rose said as she shrugged.

"Fantastic. Ready then?"

"Almost." Rose ran to the loo. While there, she brushed her hair and tried to style it in a manner similar to the way she had worn it when they were in Cardiff in 1869. She didn't know fashion well enough to guess in what exact decade an Alice-in-Wonderland style dress and pinafore would be "close enough," but she assumed it had to be close the same time period.

The Doctor was leaning against one of the coral columns by the double doors when she returned to the console room, but he stood up straight when he saw her. His eyes fell on her hair, then down to her eyes where they lingered for a moment. Rose felt her cheeks flush.

He cleared his throat. "Right then." He offered Rose his arm once more and gestured toward the doors with the opposite hand. "Chocolate Easter eggs await."

"Are you going to tell me where we are now?" asked Rose as she took the Doctor's arm.

"Birmingham, England—Twenty-first of March, 1875," he said. The Doctor opened the door and stepped out with Rose. "It is known at this time as 'the city of a thousand trades' because of its importance during the industrial revolution. It caused great wealth, but also poor living conditions. We are here right as people are trying to make some changes. They are improving the gas and waterworks, tearing down slums, and planning new streets. And all the while commerce continues to drive the town. And one of those businesses is run by George and Richard Cadbury."

"The same Cadbury as the chocolate company?" said Rose, recognizing the name.

The Doctor nodded. "In 1875 they made the first chocolate Easter egg. We can be one of the first to try it."

Rose smiled and surveyed her surroundings. Though just six years later than the year she had visited Cardiff, it seemed far more modern. The buildings were set close together and much taller than the ones in Cardiff, and many of the buildings appeared to be factories. The street she and the Doctor stood on must have been one of the nicer ones because it contained a variety of shops and there was a train station at one end. As the busy people bustled by them, one man dropped a newspaper. Rose picked it up and glanced at the front page. When she did, she giggled.

"Doctor," said Rose, showing him the paper.

The Doctor read it and shook his head. "Twenty-first of March, 1878."

"Just three years off though," Rose said, trying to be encouraging. "Can't be that different, can it?" As she was speaking, a lamplighter walked past them to light the gas lamps that lined the street.

"Not too much," he said. Then he nodded at the lamplighter. "And I did land on schedule for twilight. Let's find out what Birmingham has to offer for tea." Rose stared wide-eyed at him. She had only just mentioned she was hungry, but the Doctor had already planned on arriving for a meal.

"Don't be so amazed, Rose," said the Doctor, noticing her look. "I'm aware you need to eat. And I am not fond of skipping meals myself. Shall we go?"

Rose nodded. "Let's go."

The Doctor and Rose found a hotel with a small restaurant below. The interior had dark polished wood floors and equally dark wooden beams in the ceiling. The dozen or so tables were of a similar color with four chairs at each one and covered with a white lace-trimmed tablecloth. The Doctor and Rose were seated near the fireplace and served mutton, potatoes, bread with jam, and a cup of tea. Rose was hungry enough to inhale her food, but took her cues from diners at other tables and tried to mimic their pace and manner of eating.

When they were almost finished eating, a middle-aged woman approached their table.

"I am Mrs. Georgina Addison," said the woman. "My husband, William, and I run this hotel. We could tell you were from out of town, and we wanted to welcome you to Birmingham."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Addison," said the Doctor with a nod of his head. "I'm the Doctor and this is Miss Rose Tyler."

"Pleased to meet you," said Rose to Mrs. Addison. She wasn't sure if she should shake hands, curtsey, or do some other formal gesture, so she remained still.

Mrs. Addison smiled at Rose but directed her conversation toward the Doctor. "What brings you to Birmingham? Are you here to work in one of our hospitals, Doctor…"she said searching for a surname.

"Just the Doctor," he said with a wide smile. "Actually, we are here on holiday to visit a factory. Could you tell us if we are close to Bridge Street Works?"

Mrs. Addison's face grew serious. "If you are not conducting business on Bridge Street, I would suggest you stay clear of it."

"Really?" asked the Doctor raising his eyebrows. Rose could tell by his tone that he was trying (and failing) to hide his excitement. "Why is that?"

"Strange things have been happening lately," Mrs. Addison told him. "Disappearances. It is no place anyone has need of visiting, especially after dark and especially—" she nodded to Rose, "for children."

Rose scoffed. _For children? _She probably should have kept silent, but she couldn't help it. "I beg your pardon ma'am, but I am not a child."

The woman gave Rose a patronizing smile. "Of course not dear. Girls your age never consider themselves children, and I _will_ say that you carry yourself well enough to have the appearance of one as old as seventeen. Nevertheless, at fourteen, you are still not full grown, and you are naïve about the world outside the comforts of your home."

Rose took a bite of jam and bread to distract herself from speaking her mind. She was tempted to tell the woman just how far outside her home she had been.

"Doctor," Mrs. Addison said seriously, "I must warn you to stay away. Children have gone missing. And not just the street urchins—the poor dears—but even children of high society. If you must go there, wait until the day begins. And whatever you do, do not take your daughter."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Rose choked on the piece of bread she had been eating. Fueled by the anger of being labeled a child and the embarrassment of the woman's assumption, all pretenses of Victorian propriety were abandoned. "Wait! You think he's my _dad_? That's so far off it's just—"

"Rose," the Doctor warned, shaking his head.

Rose ignored him and continued her rant. "Heaven knows he's old enough to—Well, never mind, let's not even go there. I don't even want to think…Whatever. Still, he's not my dad. My dad was wonderful and brilliant and…" Rose found herself unable to continue. Gwyneth in Cardiff had known through her gift of clairvoyance that Rose's father was dead, but it was not something she talked about much. And she hadn't told the Doctor even after Gwyneth had read her mind. Now she felt she should. She ignored the meddlesome woman and looked into the Doctor's eyes.

"He died," she said, "when I was very young. I was just a baby. All I had was my mum until…" She was going to say, "Until you invited me to go along with you." But she realized how improper that would sound in 1878, so she hoped the meaning was conveyed through her eyes. Sure, Rose had friends—Mickey and Shareen had been the two of the closest ones—but already this Time Lord meant more to her than any of them.

Mrs. Addison, thinking Rose was still talking to her, misinterpreted Rose's unfinished sentence and wrapped arms around her. "You poor child, to lose both your father and your mother! That explains your less-than-proper outbursts. Poor thing," she said. "And the good Doctor here, he watches over you now, does he?"

Rose knew it wasn't worth her bother to clarify, and the Doctor did indeed watch out for her (of course she did the same for him, but that was beside the point), so she just nodded.

The woman turned her attention back to the Doctor. "My warning still stands Doctor. Your ward would be in terrible danger if you took her to Bridge Street. And as headstrong as she appears to be, you'd be best to mark my words."

* * *

Before Mrs. Addison would give the Doctor directions to the factory, he had to promise her that he would not visit Bridge Street until morning and that he would do so without Rose. They were then prevented from leaving the restaurant until they assured Mr. Addison that they already had lodging elsewhere, and therefore were not in need of rooms for the night.

As they left and began to walk toward their destination, Rose couldn't help but complain. "A child!" she exclaimed. "Why did she assume I was a child?"

The Doctor said nothing, but he pursed his lips and looked up.

"What?" demanded Rose.

"That was my fault," he said. "I forgot about the dress length. It's a bit short."

"It's a few inches a bit above my ankles," she said, looking down. "How is that short?"

"Grown women wear their dresses to the ground or at least past the ankle. Mid-calf is worn by girls that are about fourteen-years-old," he said."Oh, and pinafores are only worn by children or servants."

"Well that explains it," she said a bit irked. Then she pointed a finger at the Doctor. "Next time I change."

The Doctor nodded as they turned onto Bridge Street.

Bridge Street Works, the factory owned by the Cadbury brothers, was in the center of town and easy to spot. The building facing the street was two stories high and had nine large windows across the top floor. Directly under these windows on the ground floor were wooden doors. One of the doors was an archway large enough for horse-drawn cart to drive through. To the left of the building was a large gate that lead to the rest of the factory. Through the gate, Rose saw larger buildings with smokestacks that were arranged around a courtyard. And at the far end she could see the beginning of a small canal, which linked the factory to the main canal in Birmingham.

"Impressive," said Rose. "Not Willy Wonka, but still big."

The Doctor smiled at her remark, but then frowned. "Does anything seem out of place to you?" he asked her.

"No," she said, "Seems like a factory that's closed for the night."

"Exactly," he said. "So why isn't it closed?" The Doctor gestured with his chin to the door on the far right of the building. It was open and a flickering light was coming from within.

"That wasn't open a moment ago," she said. She and the Doctor moved slowly toward the door. When they were about twenty feet from the entrance, Rose heard a faint sound. As she stopped to listen, she realized it was music. "Do you hear that?" she asked the Doctor. "The music? That can't be from this time. It sounds like the music that plays when a business puts you on hold or—"

"Lift music," said the Doctor, with a look of recognition. "It can't be."

* * *

The Doctor had heard music like that before. It had been one of the devices used to force cheerfulness by the Happiness Patrol on the world of Terra Alpha. But that was years in the future. Could there be another explanation? Perhaps another time traveler was stuck in 1878 and simply liked Muzak. He was mentally chiding himself for the ridiculousness of his last thought when a young-sounding voice shouted from across the street.

"Don't go in there!" the voice said.

The Doctor turned to see a young boy in torn, dirty clothes running over to where he and Rose stood. He waited till the boy had reached them before addressing him. "Why shouldn't I go in there?" he asked the boy. "What's going on?"

The boy, who appeared to be about ten-years-old, was trembling. "It's something evil," he said." The boy's eyes drifted over to the open door. "It lures them in with the music and a pile of sweets just by the door. But they don't come back out." The boy's eyes filled with tears.

The Doctor crouched down to the boy's level and looked into his eyes. "Who is being lured in?" he asked.

"The kids," the boy said. "First it was just sweets at the door and just the real little ones went in 'cause they was to small to know better. But then the music started, and now even the bigger ones go in. They get too close and they can't stop."

"How long has this been happening?" the Doctor asked the boy.

The boy closed his eyes and started counting on his fingers. He opened up his eyes when he was holding up seven fingers. "Seven days," he said. "And yesterday it took my brother, Lucas. He was thirteen—three years older than me. He knew better, but it got him anyway." The boy started crying.

The Doctor patted the boy on the shoulder, but he was not sure how he was supposed to comfort him. Fortunately, Rose bent down and pulled the boy into an embrace. Sometimes she was infinitely more clever than he was.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" she asked as she let go of the boy.

"Caleb," he answered, sniffing. "Caleb Tanner."

"Nice to meet you, Caleb. I'm Rose. And he's the Doctor," she said pointing.

Caleb smiled meekly at the Doctor.

"Well, Caleb," she said. "I think this needs to stop, yeah? And maybe if we go in on purpose, it'll be different." Rose looked over at the Doctor, who nodded in return.

"Caleb," the Doctor asked. "Is there anything else you can tell us that might help us find your brother, or anything else you know about what is happening here?"

Caleb sniffed. "One day the owners didn't come out when the day was over. They usually gave us chocolate if we helped carry things for them," he said. "But that day the workers left and they stayed inside. The next day people went to work, but no one has said nothin' about it. Like we was the ones what was strange." He took a breath. "But then the sweets showed up that night and every night after. And for three days it's been this music. Last week Miss Beatrice Lytton disappeared. Now that an upper class girl has gone missing, everyone knows," Caleb said. Then he looked at Rose. "You ain't much older, Miss Rose; I might think again about goin' in."

The Doctor noticed Rose's sigh about her again-mistaken age, but was thankful when she didn't say anything.

"Thank you, Caleb," said the Doctor. "Now listen to me. I want you to go home now. Rose and I are going to find out what is going on. Whatever you do, do not follow us. Do you understand?"

Caleb nodded.

"Good boy," said the Doctor with a smile. "Now off you go."

The Doctor watched until Caleb turned the corner and was no longer on Bridge Street. "Ready?" he asked.

"Let's go," said Rose.

As they got nearer to the open door of the factory, the instrumental music increased in volume. It also seemed to have a hypnotic pull. Something told him he better heed Caleb's warning, so he took hold of Rose's hand.

"Whatever this is," he said to Rose, "it is utilizing some sort of low-level psychic field in the music as means of control." Just then, an instrumental version of "The Girl from Impanema" played in the background. "Course it would have to," he said. "No one would be drawn to this music naturally."

Rose smiled at his comment. She looked at the plate of sweets at the door's entrance and became serious. "What does it want with children though?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor as they reached the doorway "I've encountered this music before, but at the time it was just an attempt to force happiness, not a means of hypnosis." He looked at Rose, gripped her hand tighter, then entered the building.

The room they had entered was lit by gas lamps and held countless barrels of cocoa beans. The only thing notable was the incessant background music. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver to find its source, but frowned at the reading.

"Multi-frequency wave distortion," he mumbled.

"Come again?"

"The music isn't coming from speakers or a traceable source. It's riding on the sound waves already in the air, refracting off each other, and using the environmental acoustics to disperse the sound," the Doctor said. "In other words, it's almost impossible to trace except with the ear."

"So we keep walking," she said.

The Doctor nodded. They walked forward into an adjoining room in which beans were in some state of being sorted. The music had seemed to move ahead of them, leading them through another door. This door lead them to the courtyard, which was empty except for various crates and supplies along the edges of the building. The song selection had stopped, so the Doctor did as well. Then he heard music coming from the building on the right. The Doctor quickened his pace following the melody of "Do You Know the Way to San Jose."

"Is it aliens then?" asked Rose as they walked briskly to the building.

"Actually, I think these might be future humans," the Doctor said, "especially given the music selection."

They reached the entrance to the building and the Doctor prepared to open the door with his sonic screwdriver. However, it was wide open.

_Of course it is_, he thought. _We were being lured here._

He gave Rose's hand another squeeze, then lead them through the doorway.

* * *

The Doctor and Rose had entered a room that was out of place in the nineteenth century. It was sterile and white and housed electronic controls and a clear glass vat filled with a bright red liquid. Standing at one of the controls was a semi-robotic creature slightly taller than the Doctor. Its head seemed to be comprised of blue bubble gum with swirling hypnotic eyes; its torso and arms appeared to be of a mix of robotics and pink-and-red hard candy; its abdomen resembled yellow taffy with a black center; and the legs resembled a mixture of candy and robotics.

"Kandy Man," he said darkly. This same creature had been a ruthless assassin when he had encountered it before. But what was he doing in Birmingham in 1878? Was he still the henchman for Helen A. or some faction of the Happiness Patrol, or did he have another master—or perhaps no master at all?

Kandy Man had not detected their presence, but the Doctor knew they needed to get out before that fact changed.

"Rose," he said quietly under his breath. "We are going to back up very slowly."

Rose nodded and the two of them backed out of the building. Once out, the Doctor backed up a few more steps, still holding tightly to Rose's hand. He then turned left toward the opposite end of the building, turned the corner, and stopped. They crouched behind a stack of barrels while the Doctor tried to think of his next step. Out in the courtyard, he could hear "Calcutta" playing, trying to lead them back from whence they had just come.

"What was that?" Rose asked after she caught her breath.

"The Kandy Man," the Doctor told her. "I came across him once before. He was an executioner who derived a warped sense of pleasure from his work. But he can't be here. It doesn't make any sense."

Rose's hand flew to cover her mouth. "The children!" she said. "Does that mean they…"

"I don't know," said the Doctor, "but we need to keep looking till we have some answers."

"So where to?" she asked.

"We're going to find a back entrance," he said, as he pulled her to standing.

"That's fine," she said, "but you're going to cut off my circulation." She wiggled the hand he was still holding.

"Oh!" he said surprised. He hadn't even realized he still had her hand or, unfortunately for her, how tightly he was holding it. He dropped it with a sheepish look, then focused on his mission.

They rounded the corner and found a simple wooden door with a metal lock. One pulse from the sonic screwdriver, and the door was open. They had entered a room filled with ovens for roasting cocoa beans. However, the room was cool because the ovens were not lit.

After passing through the oven room, they entered an enormous room with large metal vats in which chocolate was poured and mixed. Something did not seem right to the Doctor, so he used the sonic to scan the room.

"Rose!" he said, "There are life signs in here. Search the vats!"

The Doctor and Rose ran up and down the rows looking in each one. Finally, the Doctor heard Rose call him. "Doctor! Over here!"

Six vats were lined against the wall. Five of them held two to three children each. Their hands and feet were tied with rope that appeared to be made of licorice, and they were gagged with a substance that seemed to be candy floss that did not dissolve. The sixth vat held two bearded men who appeared to be in their thirties, and they were bound in the same way. The Doctor and Rose helped everyone out of the vats, and the Doctor used a mild heat setting on the sonic to melt the restraints.

"You must be the Cadbury Brothers," said the Doctor, shaking their hands. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler."

"Pleased to meet you," said one of the men. "And, uh, thank you for the rescue. I'm George."

"Yes, thank you," said his brother. "I'm Richard." He was eyeing the sonic screwdriver. "What exactly is that item you freed us with?"

"Just a bit of science," the Doctor answered as he quickly pocketed it. "Now can you tell us what's happened here?"

"I regret to say that we cannot tell you much," said George. "We were captured a week ago by some monstrosity that I can't begin to describe. We have been bound and fed on sweets since that time."

"So the…monstrosity didn't speak to you?" asked the Doctor.

"It did not," George answered.

"I can tell you what happened," said a boy who looked like Caleb Tanner, except taller.

"Fantastic," said the Doctor. "What's your name?"

"Lucas, sir," he said "Lucas Tanner."

* * *

The Doctor and Rose listened as Lucas told them what he had witnessed. "Kids had been going' into the factory for five days when I went in," Lucas said. "As soon as they got close to the door to take the sweets, they followed the music like that story about the pipe player and the rats. My little brother begged me not to go in, but I had to find out what was going on. The music didn't get to me, but I followed where it went. This monster that looked like boiled candy took the kids and set them in chairs and put something on their heads that looked like a bowl. There were also wires he stuck to them. He kept asking them how they could be happy when they were poor. But the kids couldn't answer. They were too scared and they were crying. So the monster got mad and tied them up how you saw them. I stayed hid all night. In the morning the workers came in, and some man told them that the vats were still not working, so they stayed away. But he found me and brought me to the monster."

"It was William Strain," said Richard Cadbury, "but he didn't sound himself. It reminded me of the mesmerist that came through here a few years ago."

"Psychic control," nodded the Doctor. Then he turned to Rose. "It looks like we need to go meet with the Kandy Man," he said.

Rose nodded. "But first we need to get the children out of here." She turned to address the Cadbury brothers. "Could you lead the children out of the factory?"

"We could," said Richard, "but perhaps the older children could manage that. We would like to stay and fight for this factory." He looked over at his brother for confirmation, who nodded.

"It's not just a business to us," said George. "Our factory and its workers are like family, and they depend on this place for their survival."

"I can take them," said a young teenage girl whose tailored dress was out of place amongst the dusty rags of the other children. "I can have Lucas help me."

"What's your name?" asked Rose?

"Beatrice Lytton," she said. "I entered because I was worried about the children. My father and I often bring extra food to the families on this street, and I heard how the children had disappeared. I think the music must affect the youngest the most. I could hear it, but I could withstand it. Still, I was captured."

"How old are you?" Rose asked her.

"I will be fifteen in a fortnight," she answered.

"_That _is what fourteen looks like," said Rose, annoyed, and looking at the Doctor. "Not me."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Are you still moaning about that?"

Rose shrugged.

"Beatrice," he said to the girl, "could you help Miss Tyler remove her pinafore?"

Rose looked at him confused, but the girl did as she was asked an untied Rose's pinafore.

The Doctor then handed Beatrice a pair of scissors that he had produced from his pocket. "Now, can you cut the seam of her hem?"

Beatrice complied, and knowing what was to happen next, helped Rose remove the thread that ran the around the edge of the dress. She then lowered the hem so that it reached her ankle. "Not a neat job, but much better," she said as she smiled at Rose.

"Now you look nineteen again," he said impatiently. "Can we go stop the confectionary maniac now?"

Rose didn't give him an answer. Instead, she gave him a partial smile/partial glare and set to work to get the children out. She paired them up then put Beatrice at the front of the line and Lucas at the end. George Cadbury gave them a key for the large gate at the other end of the property, so that they did not have to cross near the Kandy Man on their way out.

When they could see that the children were safe, the four adults rounded their way around the building to Kandy Man's headquarters, accompanied by the background music of glockenspiel, shaker egg, and stringed instruments.

"Do you have a plan, Doctor?" asked Rose. "After all you've encountered this thing before."

"No," said the Doctor. "Isn't that wonderful?"

The Cadbury brothers exchanged nervous glances.

"Don't worry," Rose told them with a reassuring smile. "That's when he does his best work."

As they reached the open door the Doctor stepped in front of Rose and the Cadbury brothers. Rather than sneaking in as he did before, he strode in with a giant smile. Rose followed a few paces behind. "Kandy Man!" he said, as if greeting an old friend. "It's been a long time since Terra Alpha. What brings you to Victorian England?"

Kandy Man turned in the direction of the Doctor's voice. It was hard for Rose to tell with the swirling eyes but it seemed that he looked at the Doctor in surprise. "How do you know who I am?" Kandy Man asked in a high pitched robotic voice.

"We met long ago," said the Doctor. "You tried to kill me with strawberry fondant surprise—" the Doctor looked at the large glass container of red liquid "—and I fixed your feet to the floor with lemonade."

"Doctor!" said Kandy Man with a mix of surprise and fear. "You do not look the same."

"How do you not look the same?" whispered Rose.

"Hard to explain right now," the Doctor whispered back. "I had…longer hair. And different clothes. And a hat."

The Kandy Man shook a robotic hand at him, interrupting Rose's inquiry. "This is not your time." Kandy Man said. "You should not be here!"

"Neither should you," he said. "How did you get here?"

"Mistress Helen A. returned to Tera Alpha and found me," said Kandy Man. "She found scientists to revive and reprogram me. Then we used a time vehicle to search for the true source of happiness."

"And to extract it for her own use, I bet," finished the Doctor. "And how do you do that exactly?"

"Sugar mixed with electrodes," boasted the Kandy Man. "Any pleasant thoughts are absorbed in the fondant. I am not in the business of killing anymore, Doctor. Not as a first option."

"And where is your Mistress?" asked the Doctor. As he did he signaled with a wave for George and Richard to enter.

"Mistress was lost in the vortex. But I await her return," answered Kandy Man. "When she does, I will be rewarded for my findings!" Kandy Man was so involved in his own story that he was not paying attention to the Doctor, who was examining the control panel. A second later the music and its power of psychic control had been shut off. Rose breathed a sigh of relief.

The sudden silence caused Kandy Man to lose focus on his story and notice his surroundings. "Intruder!" he shouted at Rose as he started to pursue her. "You are older than the rest, but maybe I can extract more happiness from you since you don't seem to be crying like the rest of those young humans."

"Oh, no you don't!" said Rose. She nodded at the Cadbury brothers, who had made their way behind Kandy Man and had found a long rope made of licorice. Together they were able to bind him up and direct him to a chair that was underneath a vat of strawberry fondant.

"Will you kill me then, Doctor?" asked Kandy Man.

* * *

The Doctor considered the Kandy Man's question. They had been able to rescue the children without any lasting harm, and he had disabled the music control. If he could dismantle Kandy Man's kitchen-like headquarters, then there was no reason to harm him.

"No," said the Doctor. "But you will be my prisoner until we can find a place where you can live without harming anyone."

"Then answer me this, Doctor," asked Kandy Man, with a hint of melancholy. "Why have I not found it?"

"Found what?" asked the Doctor.

"Happiness," answered the Kandy Man. "Outside, the children with little food or clothing laugh and play. Where is it produced? Why couldn't my mistress find it?"

The Doctor thought of his own life. He had been asking himself the same question: When you have so much pain and regret, where do you find happiness? He thought of the children who lived in hardship but would laugh during a game of tag. He thought of Rose who watched her planet blow up years in her future, but was cheered up by the smell of chips.

"It is found in hope," said the Doctor. "Youth have no reason not to hope. They can find joy in the smallest things around them; as we get older we forget how to do that. And it can't be extracted, bottled, or forced." He looked over at Rose, surprised to find there was a lump in is his throat. "But it is contagious, and it can be learned. You do that simply by spending your time with those who still have that hope."

"But what good is hope, when your life is miserable?" challenged Kandy Man.

The Doctor's eyes were still fixed in Rose's direction. He had not known her all that long, and yet he was aware that she had had a positive effect on him. "Because hope brings change."

The Doctor was pondering this when he heard Rose shout, "Doctor! Watch out!"

The Doctor, who had been preoccupied by his own thoughts, had not noticed that the Kandy Man's licorice ropes had melted. Kandy Man seized the Doctor by the arm and shoved him in the chair, spraying syrup from his torso region that functioned as a glue, keeping the Doctor in place.

"Your words are intriguing," said Kandy Man, "but do not match with my program design. I will keep my mission, but you will have to die." Kandy Man moved to the controls to release the fondant.

"You would kill a man because you disagree with him?" shouted George, distracting the candy-made robot.

"You are my prisoners!" shouted the Kandy Man. "You also must die."

"Then catch us!" taunted Richard. He opened a door in the back of the room that lead to the oven room that the Doctor and Rose had been in earlier. He ran through it with George right behind him. Kandy Man, unable to both kill the Doctor and chase his escaped prisoners, chose to pursue the Cadbury brothers and leave killing the Doctor till later.

"How do I free you?" asked Rose, rushing over after Kandy Man had left.

"The sonic in my lapel pocket," he said. "It should still be set to melt. Just aim near my hands first."

She found it and did as instructed. The Doctor then took the sonic back and melted the rest of the syrup. In about a minute, he was finally free, though sticky and uncomfortable.

Without a word, they raced into the oven room. The Doctor noticed that, unlike before, the room was incredibly warm.

"The ovens light as a chain reaction, and over half are lit now," the Doctor heard George say. "You have a choice. Stop with your plan and surrender to the Doctor, or melt."

"I will not melt!" said Kandy Man with a laugh. "I have been rebuilt stronger. You will burn first." The Kandy Man once again squirted syrup from his chest, which caught fire and spread it beyond the confines of the oven. It was headed toward the Cadbury brothers.

"Run out the back entrance!" The Doctor shouted to them. The Cadburys complied at once. Then he turned to Rose. "Out the way we came, quick!"

"No! I won't!" she said. "We're in this together!" Mrs. Addison was right. Rose was headstrong—infuriatingly so—but it was also one of the things he appreciated most about her.

"I have a plan," he said, having to raise his voice over the sound of the blazing fire. "I promise."

Rose gave the Doctor a reluctant look, but did as he asked.

The Doctor quickly changed the setting on his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at a heavy chain that was hanging from the ceiling. It caused the chain to swing loose and knock over Kandy Man. It also knocked over an oven, resulting in higher, more unwieldy flames. He ran back through the door of Kandy Man's control kitchen, and then out into the courtyard. Outside, George, Richard, and Rose were standing watching the flames grow higher.

"Run!" he shouted.

The four of them made it outside the gates of the factory just as a fireball exploded in the air.

"That was the reaction of the fire and the chemicals used by Kandy Man," he explained. And the four of them watched as the factory was engulfed in flames.

* * *

An hour later, Rose and the Doctor sat at a table at the Addison's restaurant drinking tea. Beatrice Lytton, with the help of Lucas Tanner, had been able to get all the children safely home and was now at another table with her father and mother.

"Well, Doctor," said George with a smile. "It appears you have blown up our place of business."

"Oh, he does that all the time," said Rose with a grin. "Blew up my shop the first time I met him. Then there was Cardiff and Downing Street. It's pretty much his calling card."

The Doctor shook his head but smiled. "Sorry about that."

"No matter," said Richard. "We were running out of space and had plans to rebuild anyway. We wanted to do something better for our workers."

"Yes," added George. "Why should an industrial area be squalid and depressing? We've purchased fourteen acres of land four miles south of here with far better conditions than workers experience in the slums of this crowded city. It has a meadow, cottage, and a trout stream called "The Bourn.'"

"Bournville!" said Rose. "I've been there. It's lovely!" Then she clasped a hand over her mouth realizing that Bournville had not been founded yet.

"Bournville," said Richard. "I like it. We had been thinking of calling it Bournbrook, but I like this much better. "

George nodded in agreement. "You two should come back when the building is complete."

"I'd like that," Rose said. "Despite almost getting blown up, I enjoyed your factory. I just wish I had been able to get what I had come for."

"What was that?" asked George.

"I didn't get my chocolate Easter egg."

"I think we can help with that one," said Richard with a smile. "We have a shop just down the street."

* * *

"Think you have enough Easter eggs now?" asked the Doctor with a smirk when they were back on the Tardis. No less than ten chocolate eggs in boxes were scattered on the floor of the console room.

"Nah, these'll be gone in a week or less, and that's if I _don't_ share with you," said Rose with an impish grin. She tilted her head and thought for a minute. "You know, every time someone mistook me for fourteen, I couldn't suss out why it bothered me. Then I remembered my mother on the phone when we were in Downing Street saying I was just a kid, and you agreed. But I felt by then I had already done enough to prove that wasn't true." She looked at the chocolate egg she was breaking in pieces and eating. "But now that I think of it, maybe being a little childish now and then isn't so bad."

The Doctor considered Rose as she sat on the ground with her storybook dress and stash of chocolate eggs. She was youthful, to be sure, but he did not see a child. He saw a young woman who sometimes could be immature, but other times showed wisdom and courage beyond her years.

"You're not childish, Rose," the Doctor said as he took an egg from one of the boxes and took a bite.

"Oi, that's mine!" she said in protest.

"Well, you're not _usually _childish_._"

Rose made a face at him, which made him smirk.

"Still, never be ashamed of being young," he said. "Some people would die to have a bit of that energy and wonder."

"Thank you," Rose said as her face flushed slightly. "And Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Happy Easter."

**Author's Notes: The historical facts about the Victorian era and the city of Birmingham are accurate. Even exterior descriptions of the factory are based on drawings. (The interior details of the factory and restaurant are my own imagination, but are also based on research.) The Cadbury company was founded by a Quaker named John Cadbury and later taken over by his sons, George and Richard. The values they express in the story are based on my research, and I believe they reflect their true values. Also, Bournville really did start to come about in 1878. You can learn more by going to the Cadbury UK site.**

**The Happiness Patrol is a 4-part episode during the Seventh Doctor's era. (And yes, I did watch it.) The Kandy Man is an often ridiculed monster, but the society of the Happiness Patrol is actually an interesting dystopia story (just under developed.) I hope I brought an interesting angle to this old villain.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Domestic Danger

**Calendar Girl **

**Chapter 3 – Domestic Danger**

"I was going to have cereal for breakfast."

The Doctor was lying on his back under the edge of the console when he heard Rose's voice. Without looking at the time display—which now mimicked the Earth's diurnal cycle—the Doctor knew that it was just past nine hundred hours.

She was rather predictable, Rose was. The Tardis had been parked in the Vortex six Earth-days in order to allow the Doctor to focus on repairs and to let the engine recharge, and already Rose had fallen into a circadian rhythm that the Doctor could set his watch to. At first, Rose had slept long hours to catch up on the missing sleep her body needed. But by the next day, she had fallen into a sleep and wake cycle that varied by less than ten minutes. This precision was simultaneously boring and utterly fascinating to the Doctor. Rose was not his first human companion, but he had never paid attention to the details of their habits like he found himself doing lately.

The Doctor's distracted thoughts had caused his work to cease, but he had not moved from his position under the console edge. It occurred to him that Rose's routine was off. She had never announced that she was eating breakfast, and he was not sure what the correct response to such a statement was. If this was a human custom, he was not aware of it. He decided it was best to carry on with his work and act as if this statement was not in any way confusing to him.

"Okay," said the Doctor brightly without getting up to look at her.

"I _said_," Rose started again, "That I was _going_ to have cereal for breakfast. Turns out that isn't going to happen."

_Oh. _So this wasn't a general announcement of mealtime after all, it was a notice that the Tardis kitchen was out of cereal.

The Doctor scooted out from his position in a rather awkward manner and sat on the grating looking up at his pajama-clad companion. She was holding a bowl filled with small brown spheres. "You have cereal right there," said the confused Doctor.

"Yes, but no milk," said Rose. "And the whole point of eating Coco Pops is to end up with chocolate flavored milk at the end."

"Then have the Weetabix instead," the Doctor said with a shrug.

"Weetabix with no milk?" The look Rose gave the Doctor gave him the impression that he had suggested something as ridiculous as buying a three-piece-suit for the Face of Boe.

"There's plenty of bread for toast," the Doctor said. He really did not have time for this; he wanted to get back to closing the thermal couplings in the console before the wires near them began to melt. Did all humans have this much trouble adjusting to something outside of the routine? Rose had proven herself to have a quick wit, so he could not understand how her need to eat could be immobilized by one missing ingredient. One would assume that in almost two decades on earth, she would have learned how to improvise on breakfast plans. He certainly hoped she had, because there was no chance he would let her rely on him to help her make decisions this insignificant.

"The bread is already toasting, thanks," Rose said. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "By some miracle I was able to come up with that one all by myself."

"Fantastic," he said with slight irritation. "Problem solved." The Doctor located his sonic screwdriver and started to duck back under the console.

"The point is that we need to go shopping—today," Rose said.

The Doctor re-emerged from underneath the console long enough to say "No," then returned to the wires that were troubling him.

"What do you mean, 'No?'" asked Rose.

The Doctor sighed and left his position under the console so he could stand up and face her. He looked at her, crossed his arms, and said, "I mean 'no,' as in, 'No, we are not going shopping.'"

"But we're out of milk."

"The Tardis has soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk, and goat milk," said the Doctor. "And that's just the Earth milks. There is also bovicerus milk from Shallacatop, capricus milk from Flane, and grassberry milk from Betrushia. We are _not_ out of milk."

"All the same, I don't use those kinds of milk," Rose said. "Besides, the kitchen is empty of other basic things too."

The Doctor rubbed his brow. "Rose we can eat anywhere in the universe at anytime. Who needs a stocked kitchen?"

"Well, when you park us in the void for week—me," said Rose. She sat the bowl of dry cereal on the jump seat and walked over to the Doctor. "Plus the way things tend to go, we could land for a nice breakfast in some quiet café in twentieth-century France and end up being chased by some alien from Jupiter before they even serve us a cuppa. I'd much prefer to have my first meal of the day in the safety of the Tardis."

The Doctor knew she was making sense, but something in him panicked. "I don't go shopping," he said, trying hard to stand his ground.

"What do you call that quick shopping trip we made right before settling in the void?" Rose challenged, "You know, at that place that looked like Mos Eisley?"

"Mos what?" the Doctor said.

"Mos Eisley," she said. "You know, from _Star Wars_? I was sure when you were looking at all those robotic parts that someone was going to say 'These aren't the droids you're looking for.'"

The Doctor shook his head at the reference. "Not everything in space is like _Star Wars_," he said.

"Would you rather I compare it to _Star Trek_?" she asked as she flashed her trademark grin.

"Not really," he said, but he couldn't help but smile back.

"Anyway, that was shopping," Rose said. "We must have been there for an hour looking at machine and tech junk."

"Well that's different," he said, defensively. "It's not…"

"Domestic, yeah," said Rose with disappointment.

As soon as The Doctor saw her crestfallen face, he knew he had lost. "Okay, shopping it is," he said. He turned to his monitor to ponder the least domestic place that could be accomplished.

"Um, Doctor," asked Rose. "Could we go to Earth at some place and time close to home so I am familiar with the stores?"

_Well there goes any chance for adventure,_ the Doctor mused. "Any more specifics?"

"Well, I was thinking I might want a calendar—a normal paper one of 2005 so I can keep track of our holiday excursions," she said. "That is, if we can do that without crossing timelines or whatever."

He could do that. In fact, if that is what Rose Tyler wished, then that is exactly what he wanted to do. He marveled at the power that one human girl seemed to have over him.

"Fine," he said, feigning more annoyance than he really felt, "I'll make it work."

"Thank you. It'll be fun. I promise," she said. She gave him one last smile before retrieving her bowl of cereal and exiting the console room.

* * *

"So this is…" Rose said as she and the Doctor emerged from the Tardis.

"Belfast, 6th of January, 2005," the Doctor said. "No chance of running into yourself, yet close to home. And there should be plenty of calendars left over."

"Brilliant!" said Rose. "And look, there's a Tesco right there!"

The Doctor was amazed at what could make Rose Tyler excited. Tell her that the bloke standing next to you is Charles Dickens, and you get an "Okay," but take her to a supermarket chain in Northern Ireland, and she practically jumps up and down with enthusiasm.

"It won't take forever, okay?" she said. "Just gonna take the trolley and make a quick trip."

"Okay," the Doctor said. He leaned against the edge of the Tardis. "I'll be right here"

"You're not comin' in?" Rose asked.

"I'd rather face the Slitheen again," he told her. "I'll be right here. Go on; have your fun." He waved her in the direction of the store as he spoke. "And stay out of trouble."

Rose rolled her eyes. "It's a grocery store, Doctor. What trouble can I possibly get into?"

"Don't know," he said. "But if there is any to be found, you'll be the one to find it."

Rose laughed and ran across the street to the entrance of the store. The Doctor thought about following her, but he had to stay true to his party line, and grocery shopping was far too domestic.

* * *

Rose walked over to the row of trolleys outside the store and selected the first one without examining it. She yelped as she felt a sharp pain in her right hand and instantly drew it toward herself. As she did, the sharp pain grew. Rose looked at her hand to find it covered in blood. Then she noticed that the trolley handle was twisted and a sharp rusted piece was sticking up right where she had placed her hand. When she pulled it forward, it must have caused a severe laceration. Blood was now dripping to the ground and forming a small pool.

"Bugger," she said. She looked across the street to see if the Doctor had noticed, but it appeared he had gone back inside the Tardis. She knew she should probably return to the Tardis and have the Doctor tend to her hand (which amused Rose since she hadn't seen him do much that actually applied to his title of "Doctor"), but she was afraid that if she did, he would decide to call off her shopping trip and never get around to scheduling another one. No—it was better if she just carried on. Rose took off her light blue cotton scarf and used the jagged edge of the trolley handle to cut it in two. She then wrapped the smaller portion around her hand and did her best to tie it using her left hand and her teeth.

After finishing her self-administered first aid, Rose noticed a teenage Tesco employee walking out of the store.

"Oi!," she called to him. "One of these trolleys just sliced up my hand. You need to clean up this bloody trolley and get it out of here before someone else gets hurt." After she said it, she realized how her words must have sounded, so she clarified. "I mean the trolley literally has blood on it," she said. She waved her haphazardly bandaged hand at him as proof. "See?"

The worker nodded. He went about finding someone to help him, but didn't offer any apology. If Rose's mother had been with her, she would have been demanding compensation for her daughter, but all Rose wanted was to get groceries and get back to the Tardis. She took the next nearest trolley and headed toward the entrance. It was just her luck—this one had a sticky wheel and wobbled—but she decided it wasn't worth her trouble to get a different one.

Rose went over her mental shopping list as she passed through the double doors. The unwieldy trolley was a pain, but she soon learned its idiosyncrasies and adjusted to them. In addition, she seemed to be following the same path down the aisles as a young mother and her child. A cherubic girl of about three or four sat in the trolley seat, and waved at Rose. The little girl with honey blonde hair and a friendly smile reminded Rose of herself at that same age, and Rose enjoyed smiling and waving back at the child as she shopped.

Rose knew what she wanted to buy, but tried to consider what the Doctor might want as well. This was difficult since he refused to come along, but she did her best to guess. She bought bananas because it seemed they went through them rather quickly though she had eaten very few. She also went a little overboard with biscuits, puddings, and sweets. This was probably because everything that the mini-Rose was putting in her basket (without her mother's knowledge) looked appealing and made Rose want it as well.

Soon she had gone through most of the store and had a basket full of food for breakfasts, quick meals, and snacks. All she had left to select were the non-food items. She had stocked up on various personal items and was now in the hair care row. She had chosen several bottles of shampoo and conditioner because she had no idea when she would next be able to go shopping. Meanwhile, the little girl in front of her (whom she heard the mother call Katie) was holding a bottle of kids' shampoo and chattering about the cartoon character on it. Rose nodded in response then turned her attention to the hair dyes. She once had hair as fair as Katie's, but it had darkened over the years. Her natural hair color was a mixture of several hues, and the darker ashen tones had overtaken the fairer golden ones. Her mother (who ran a hairdressing business from home) would help her achieve a look that let mostly the golden tones come through. But with a changed life, she wasn't sure if she really wanted to bother with hair dyes. After all, no one cared what shade of blonde her hair was when she was running for her life.

Rose walked sideways as she examined the multiple boxes of dye. She did not notice that little Katie had dropped her shampoo and broken it. Rose stepped where Katie's mother's trolley had been and slipped on the spilled shampoo. In the process, she tripped into a hairbrush display that was in the the aisle and fell on her backside. The hairbrush display was tethered to the shelf, and the minor stumble caused the entire shelf to tilt. Rose looked up and knew it was going to fall.

"Watch out!" she shouted to the mother and daughter who were only a few paces ahead of her. She watched as the mother got Katie to safety. Rose, however, was unable to get to her feet quick enough and could only cover her head and duck. The entire shelving unit did not fall, but the top shelf was yanked from its brackets and came crashing down along with bottles of shampoos and other bottles of hair care supplies. The shelf hit Rose on her left shoulder pushing her further to the ground while several shampoo bottles pelted her back and head.

* * *

The Doctor pondered his earlier conversation with Rose as he assessed his repair work and declared it complete. He knew he had to try being less stubborn. It had been his choice to invite Rose to travel with him—he even gave her a second chance when she had said no—therefore it was his obligation to make her feel comfortable. And if he was being honest with himself, it was his pleasure to go out of his way for her. He had already decided to give her back those missed holidays; was it that much trouble to also make the Tardis feel like a proper home to her? The Doctor smiled. Domestic or not, the idea of Rose Tyler making herself at home on the Tardis was one of the most pleasant thoughts he had had in a long time.

The Doctor left the Tardis with a purpose. Finding a calendar for Rose was the perfect gesture to show that he was accepting her for the linear-minded human that she was. He found a small book shop around the corner from the Tesco that had exactly what he needed. At the front of the store was a display of calendars that had already been marked down for clearance. Instantly, his frustration set in. He could not understand why there needed to be such a wide selection of calendars when they provided the same information. And why did so many of them feature diminutive animals? Puppies, kittens, bunnies, and baby farm animals stared at him from their glossy pages. Other calendars featured photos from films and televisions programmes that were popular in 2004. After searching through countless calendars, he finally found the right one and went to find Rose.

Before the Doctor even turned the corner, he knew something was not right. He could hear the wail of an ambulance siren and could tell it was heading in the same direction he was. His suspicions were right: the ambulance had stopped in front of the supermarket. The Doctor broke into a run and headed straight into the commotion.

"What happened?" he asked one of the paramedics standing outside

"Sir you can't be here," the paramedic answered.

_I bloody well can,_ he thought,_ try and stop me. _The Doctor's stance and stare became authoritative as he asked again, "What happened?"

"A young woman was hit by a falling shelf," said the paramedic. "But you can't go in there."

"Yes I can," he said. "I'm the Doctor." Then he darted into the store and toward the location of the accident without waiting for a response.

"I'm fine really," a voice said from within a circle of people.

It was Rose. Of course it was. He hadn't meant his words that morning to be prophetic, but yet she still managed to find danger in an everyday supermarket.

Using the title of "Doctor" to his advantage, he was able to break through the protective ring of people and get to her. Bottles of shampoo were everywhere and one row of the shelf was lying on the floor. Rose was sitting in the midst of it all while two paramedics tended to her needs. He did not see any outward damage, except for a bloody scarf tied around the palm of her right hand. With a bit of convincing and the use of psychic paper, he was able to get Rose released to his care. And the supermarket, eager to avoid a lawsuit, was happy to settle the matter by giving Rose her groceries for free.

* * *

"Ouch!" protested Rose. A wave of pain shot through her hand as she sat on the examining table in the Tardis medical bay. She tried to draw her hand away, but the Doctor held her wrist firmly and used a device similar to the sonic screwdriver to heal her hand.

"It wouldn't have hurt so much if you had come to me the minute you injured it," said the Doctor. "That trolley was teeming with bacteria and germs. Your hand was already becoming infected. Still, you'll be completely healed in a day or two."

"And what about the pain from being hit by a shelf and pelted by shampoo bottles?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that's just muscle soreness and will have to heal in its own time," the Doctor said.

"So I suppose that this was the last shopping trip I get to make," said Rose.

"No," said the Doctor, "just the last one without me. You, Rose Tyler, are a magnet for danger, no matter how domestic the task."

"That was purely coincidental, that was," Rose said. "But it'd be nice if you'd come next time."

"I'd be glad to."

Rose grinned, but then a thought made her face fall. "Oh no!" she said. "I forgot!"

The Doctor smiled, which seemed like the wrong response to what she had said. "Wait here," he instructed her. A moment later he was back with a brown shopping bag. "I think this is what you forgot," he said as he handed it to her.

Rose opened the bag and took out a wall calendar. As Rose examined the back cover, which had a preview each month's picture, happy tears filled her eyes. Inside were twelve photographs from famous places within the United Kingdom. "It's perfect," she said. She gave the Doctor a bear hug, which she could tell surprised them both.

"Well then, Calendar Girl," said the Doctor with a grin. "It's time for a year to remember."

**Author Notes: This story deviates from the rest since it is neither a glimpse of an episode nor a holiday adventure. Still, I thought it was needed to help establish the story a little more. We will be intersecting with the TV show very soon.**


	4. Chapter 4 - A Fool's Paradise

**Calendar Girl **

This chapter is about 5,700 words. Shorter than Chapter 2 but longer than Chapter 3. I am guessing that this will be my usual chapter length for this story. So if you like to read in smaller doses, line breaks will make good stopping points.

* * *

**Chapter 4 – A Fool's Paradise**

The Doctor studied the curious book he had bought Rose with the same amount of interest he gave to an Agatha Christie mystery. This was likely because the concept of a calendar was about as mysterious to him as a whodunit novel. The same seven days repeated every week. The same twelve months repeated every year with a maximum of a three day variation in their length. And, with only rare exceptions, the holidays repeated on the same date each year or occurred on the same day and week within the month each year. The coming of these holidays was never a surprise, and yet for some reason humans had the need to draw it all out in grid with the holidays labeled in a dark boldfaced font so they could not be missed.

Rose had marked certain holidays with a star, and the Doctor assumed these days held a higher sentimental value for her. What intrigued him was that one holiday had been scribbled out. Starting with Easter Sunday and their visit to Birmingham, Rose had started marking elapsed time by drawing a large X on the calendar at the end of each day. According to Rose's system, eight days had passed since the unreadable holiday should have occurred. He was familiar with Earth customs and holidays, but he could not remember what the unreadable holiday was and wondered whether it had been marked out because it was accidently missed or because it was a day that she did not care for.

The Doctor was about to check the Tardis database for information on Earth holidays when Rose entered the console room with two cups of tea. "Brought you a cuppa," she said as she handed him a cup of tea, already prepared the way he preferred. "Thanks for taking me to the cinema today. That hologram theatre was quite fun, though it was a bit too real during the explosions." She sat down on the jump seat, and took a sip of tea. "We should go back and see another one, but maybe a historical drama or something next time."

The Doctor leaned against the console opposite her and nodded, but he was preoccupied with the mysterious cancelled-out holiday. "What happens on the first of April?" he asked, not caring that it was an abrupt change of subject.

"Nothing important, really," said Rose with a shrug of her shoulders. "'S'called April Fool's Day, and everyone thinks it's a big laugh, but I don't really find it funny."

"Why?" The Doctor knew Rose to have a cheerful disposition and a good sense of humor. A day of laughs seemed like something she would love.

"Because the aim is have a laugh at the expense of someone else. I know some of the tricks are harmless, but many go too far." Rose shook her head and took another sip of her tea. "I had a few mean tricks pulled on me by schoolmates when I was young, and every year after that I'd try'n convince my mum to let me stay home till it reached noon and all the pranks would stop."

"What'd they do?" he asked, feeling upset on behalf of the younger Rose.

"Cup of water that leaks—that sort of thing," she said. "Noting damaging, but they were still embarrassing. Then the year I was thirteen, I borrowed a biro from Callum Gray that was made to leak ink. It ruined my school work and my uniform, and I had to go the whole day lookin' a mess."

The Doctor felt a strange sense of protectiveness rise in him. He sat his tea cup down on the console and squared his shoulders as if to fight this perpetrator of injustice. He half considered waiting until she fell asleep, going to London in 1999, and giving the prankster the opportunity to experience the same embarrassment Rose had felt.

Rose must have guessed what he was thinking because the idea was instantly shot down. "'S'okay now," she said. "Callum got detention for it, and I forgave him eventually. Still, I didn't care for the holiday after that."

"Understandable," said the Doctor with a single nod. "Ruined your fondness for tricks and surprises, I'm guessing."

Rose put down her now-empty cup and thought a moment. "Not entirely," she said. "I just like them better when it's my choice and there is no humiliation. Like a magic act or a fun house."

Rose's words gave the Doctor an idea that was much better than avenging her honor. "What you need is a new experience to replace the bad ones. What do you think?"

"I don't know," said Rose cautiously "Depends on what you have in mind."

"Astro Pandellus," said the Doctor. "Like a fun house, but more: An entire asteroid full of naturally occurring tricks and illusions."

"Is it a safe?" asked Rose. "Because if it's going change my opinion of April Fool's Day, it would probably be best if we don't almost die."

"It's a family tourist destination," said the Doctor. He considered his jeopardy-friendly companion for moment before continuing. "Which means it's perfectly safe for most everyone, but probably a disaster waiting to happen for you."

"Oi!" Rose exclaimed as she shoved the Doctor with her foot. "We've had plenty of danger-free excursions: Ednor, Melunia, the cinema today…Wait is that it? Three? Were the rest really…" Rose started naming locations as she counted on her fingers. "Henriks, Platform One, Cardiff, Downing Street, Birmingham, Belfast. That's twice as many that were dangerous!" Rose began to laugh then pointed to the Doctor. "You weren't kidding when you said it's always dangerous."

The Doctor was a bit bewildered at her amused reaction to danger, but was caught up in her contagious laughter.

"That settles it then," Rose said wiping her eyes and catching her breath. "Dangerous or not, first thing in the morning we are going to redeem April Fool's Day."

"Fantastic!" It had been a long time since the Doctor laughed like that. Maybe the lighthearted excursion would mean catching more of Rose's contagious laughter.

* * *

The Tardis hung in space high above a large asteroid. The doors were open and the two passengers were sitting on the edge with their legs dangling below them, taking in the sights of the cosmos as if they were in a garden swing in the countryside.

"Tell me again how this is possible," Rose said. Space was supposed to be freezing, and though all she was wearing were her favorite blue jeans, a basic white cotton camisole, and her socks with no trainers, she was completely comfortable. Why this amazed her more than the fact that she was not getting sucked out into the void or why she could breathe, she didn't know. There was just something fascinating about being completely comfortable in the middle of outer space.

"There's an air shell that surrounds the Tardis" the Doctor said. "Extends the atmosphere and temperature of the interior by a foot or two."

Rose looked down on the asteroid that was to be their destination for the day. It looked like several different colors of gemstones trapped together within another greyish rock. The light from the star it was orbiting made portions of it glimmer the way the setting in a ring would do as it hit the light.

"So this is Astro Pan Dulce," Rose said of the multi-colored wonder. "It's beautiful."

The Doctor smirked and shook his head slightly.

"What?" Rose asked.

"Astro Pan_dellus_," corrected the Doctor, suppressing a laugh. "Not Pan Dulce. You just called the asteroid 'Sweet Bread.'"

Rose smiled. "So what's Pandellus mean then?"

"Roughly translated: 'the star that defies all illumination,'"

"But it's actually shining, the way the light from the star is hitting it," said Rose.

"It's a bit of an ironic name," the Doctor said. "Shines like a star from afar but darkens your perception once you reach it. It's also been called 'the star that flees enlightenment,' or 'the fool star'."

"Wow that's deep," said Rose in mock appreciation. "Bet the people who named it were really proud of themselves."

"You should see the welcome sign and the plaque that explains it all."

"Really?" said Rose astonished. "'Cause I was only joking…"

"Really," the Doctor assured her. "So are you ready?"

A few minutes later, the Tardis materialized on the asteroid. Rose opened the doors cautiously. "Can we breathe here?" she asked, making sure not to step out beyond the Tardis' protective air shell. "I mean, asteroids don't usually have their own atmosphere, right?"

"They don't usually," said the Doctor, looking at the console monitor, "but this one has an artificial atmosphere. Calibrates itself to the atmospheric content of the ships that land on its surface."

"What if there are two ships with different atmospheres?" asked Rose.

"Good question!" The Doctor said with a grin. "You're always thinking, Rose."

Rose waited for an answer but the Doctor had gone back to looking at the screen. "So?" she asked.

The Doctor looked up. "Hmm?"

"So what do they do if there are two different atmospheres needed?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor. He shrugged his shoulders, raised his eyebrows, and smiled with lips closed. Rose had seen the look before and was pretty sure it was his attempt to get out of explaining things by being charming. "I said it was a good question, not that I had an answer."

"You're impossible," said Rose with a laugh. "So can we go now?"

The Doctor looked at the readings on his screen. "Just a mo'…It's still calibrating. Three, two, one…Done!"

Rose took a step onto the asteroid. As she did, the pattern on the bottom of her trainers made an imprint in the dust. "It's like walking on the moon," she said with a rush of giddy exhilaration. "At least from what I'd imagine from the pictures and films." The portion of the asteroid they had landed on was grey and rocky like every picture of the moon she had seen, only this was a smaller chunk of rock and not quite spherical. "It's amazing! I am actually out in space!" She looked out at the crater-filled landscape then beyond to the inky void. "I mean, we've gone to some moons and planets but they all had sky. This feels like being an astronaut…except without the bulky space suit."

"If that amazes you, wait till you see what we came for."

The Doctor took Rose's shoulders gently and turned her to the right. He waited as she looked up. In front of them was a sign as large as the ones she saw along motorways. In giant illuminated letters in every color of the rainbow it said "WELCOME TO ASTRO PANDELLUS." It reminded Rose of the pictures she had seen of Las Vegas in the fifties and sixties.

"Is that neon?" Rose asked amazed at the retro style of the sign.

"Different technology, same concept," said the Doctor.

Below the giant sign at Rose's eye level was a wordy plaque that explained the origin of the asteroid and its eventual use as a tourist destination. Rose skimmed it to get an idea of the basic history of the asteroid. Fragments from various planets of a solar system had exploded and were trapped in the asteroid belt of the solar system they were now in. They merged to form Astro Pandellus, which was later discovered by human pioneers on their way to start a new colony.

Rose re-read the plaque then looked around at the barren asteroid. "Where are all the awe-inspiring sights and wonders the plaque describes? When we saw it from above it looked like it was made of precious gems."

"We saw the other side," the Doctor said. He started walking past the sign and Rose followed behind him. "It _is_ beautiful from space, but you can't walk on it. Those fragments formed different 'awe-inspiring' caverns within the asteroid. But you enter from the plain side." The Doctor stopped in front of a modest cave opening. Above it was a sign that read "ASTRO PANDELLUS CAVERNS" with the same multi-colored glowing letters as the large sign.

Rose followed the Doctor through the cave entrance to a spiral staircase which, according to another sign, descended one hundred and fifty feet. The handrail of the staircase was illuminated with small white lights that reminded Rose of the twinkling lights that adorned houses at Christmastime. Each step glowed a different color, repeating in the rainbow order as they descended. The Doctor and Rose walked carefully down the winding steps that seemed to go on forever. Once they finally reached the bottom, they encountered two corridors. In front of them was a map of the caverns. It was laid out in a wobbly asymmetrical figure-eight pattern with each chamber labeled with names such as "Sterling Spires" and "Hall of Mists". The fuchsia dot marked "You Are Here," was located at the point where the two circles met.

"Each loop takes about an hour," said the Doctor. "Which path would you like to try?"

Rose studied the map. "Why don't we do both?" she suggested. "We can always change our mind if we've had enough."

"Fantastic! Left or right first?" The Doctor held out his hand.

"Left." She took his hand and headed toward the left tunnel.

Artificial lights were imbedded in the walls of the tunnel that the Doctor and Rose had chosen, but as they continued forward, the lights grew progressively dimmer. After several minutes of walking, the snaking passageway had become completely dark. The Doctor felt Rose stop. He squeezed her hand for reassurance. "Carry on around the bend," he told her. "I can see a bit of light ahead." Rose did as bidden, and as soon as they had turned the corner, they entered a large subterranean room that was roughly thirty feet high and about the same in circumference. The entire room was bathed in an aquamarine glow. "It's caused by the basidio luminosa," the Doctor told Rose, "a fungus-like animal that feeds off the radiation in the rocks. The artificial lights were dimming so our eyes would adjust to see the bioluminescence properly."

"It's beautiful," Rose said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. "It reminds me of something out of my dreams of a child. Like a fairy ball or something." She sighed. "I could stay in this room all day." They lingered for a few more minutes before following the marked path into another narrow passageway. This time the lights in the wall became brighter as they continued their journey.

Soon they reached the next chamber. In this one, semi-transparent crystals with a sliver hue rose like stalagmites from the floor of the cave. Each crystal obelisk was about the same height as the Doctor, and the shiny surface created a distorted looking-glass reflection in each one.

"It's like a hall of mirrors," said Rose, "'Cept we look like ghosts in them." She pulled the Doctor over to the crystal she was standing in front of. "Look, I can see right through you!"

The Doctor was beginning to think that her statement was true in more ways than one. She seemed to have a knack for answering a question he hadn't asked or anticipating his actions before he did them. She also acted as a mirror. She had a way of causing him to look at himself and reflect on things he'd rather let stay buried. Yet for some reason, when he did open up to her, it took some of the sting away.

"Doctor?" Rose said after he had been standing in thought for some time, "You okay?"

"Fantastic. Ready to move on?"

The Doctor and Rose made their way through the tunnels and took their time in each of the various chambers. One had bubbling hot springs teeming with tiny translucent fish that had adapted to handle the intense heat. That room was followed by an immense cavern filled with a maze of stalactites that hung from the ceiling of the cave, stalagmites that rose from the floor, and pillars where the two had fused together. Another room seemed to have walls of gold, but was really coated in a gold-hued mineral called iron pyrite that was also known as fool's gold.

The tunnel leading to the exit of the left loop subjected the Doctor and Rose to bursts of hot misty air coming from the walls and floor. There was no set pattern to these naturally occurring jets of air, and several times the startling effect had caused Rose shriek and jump slightly. By the end of the corridor she was keeping rather close to the Doctor, and he had to chide himself for enjoying the attention he received when the startled Rose would instinctually grab for his arm.

"That was an hour?" Rose said as they found themselves facing the sign with the map again. "I should've taken more time."

"Just a tick over," said the Doctor showing his wristwatch to Rose. "Want to see more?"

Rose nodded "It's been brilliant, but I'm still waiting for things that defy enlightenment, or whatever it is Astro Pandellus is supposed to mean."

"Yeah, might be a bit of clever marketing, the name," the Doctor said with a grin.

"Still, it's been amazing," she said. "We might as well see the rest." And with that, she took the Doctor's hand and entered the corridor on the right.

* * *

The right loop, like the left, had different cavern chambers with different features. Rose loved the chamber covered in ice and the cavern in which the sediment in the walls looked like a painting of a vivid sunset. She also enjoyed the room in which mild-yet-constant seismic activity made crossing through to the other side a bit of a challenge. Still, nothing lived up to the claims of illusion and trickery.

"I think we're nearing the end," said Rose as she and the Doctor emerged from a chamber with acoustics that created incredible echoes. "There were only four areas labeled on the right side of the map."

"Then we have a problem," the Doctor said, pointing.

In front of them were two openings spaced about six feet apart from each other.

"Which is the exit?" asked Rose. "The path's not marked and neither way seems to be lit."

Rose watched as the Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver. He walked over to the entrance of each one, scanned them, then shook his head.

"What'd you learn?" asked Rose.

"Only that the rock is made of limestone," he said. "I can't tell much else without going in."

"Okay, let's pick a side and try it out," said Rose.

"Let me go first," he said "I can use the sonic screwdriver as a torch. I'll go in a few paces then call if it seems safe."

Rose reluctantly agreed and watched as the Doctor disappeared into the darkness. Thirty seconds passed. The Doctor did not call for her. Sixty more seconds elapsed. Nothing.

"Doctor?" called Rose "What do you see?"

There was no answer.

"Doctor! You were only going to go in a few paces!" she shouted into the rocky archway. "Doctor?" Rose waited several seconds for an answer. "Okay Doctor, if you don't answer this time, I'm going in there. In the dark. Alone. It'd be really nice if you answer me, okay?" Rose counted to ten, but there was only silence.

"Here goes nothing," she said to herself. She took a deep breath then stepped forward.

"Doctor, can you hear me?" she called with a shaky voice into the darkness. Hearing no answer, she moved forward with trepidation. One step. She took another breath to try and steady her nerves. Two steps. Where was he? "Doctor?" she called again. There was no reply—she had to keep moving. Three steps. Breathe. Four steps. She could do this, she could do this. Fi—

The floor dropped out from beneath her, and in total darkness she began sliding down some sort of incline covered in a slick substance. If Rose had not been terrified, she might have been able to liken it to a waterslide, but that comparison would not occur to her until many hours later. She was grateful when her descent ended with a hard thud onto a surface that was slightly softer than stone. Her second bit of good fortune was that she had landed in another place inhabited by the basidio luminosa. In the greenish glow, Rose could see that the space she occupied was about the size of a one-car garage and that the ground she had fallen on was covered in a moss-like substance. Other vegetation with flowers and leaves sprouted from it and grew like vines along the walls. And on a large rock at the opposite end of this enclosed space sat the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Rose called out as she ran to him.

The Doctor gave no sign that he had heard her. He was looking at a yellow flower that was right at his eye level, and he seemed to be talking to it. "Not on the map," the Doctor said rapidly. "Not on the map at all." He shook his head. "Right here, but not on the map." The Doctor laughed then nodded at the flower. "Such a surprise!"

"Doctor." Rose placed herself between the Doctor and the flower. "It's Rose. Are you okay?"

"Rose!" exclaimed the Doctor once he had noticed her. A grin spread across his whole face, but unlike other occurrences, Rose found his expression disturbing. "This place, Rose! It's not on the map!"

"Yeah, I heard you say that one already," she responded. "Might have been nice of them to alert people about that fifth step."

"But isn't it fantastic, Rose?" The Doctor leaped to his feet. "They don't know about it!"

"Who doesn't know?" Rose stood so she could look in the Doctor's eyes. They didn't look any different, but the Doctor was under the influence of something. Though she didn't know what caused it, Rose was familiar with the behavior. She had helped more than one friend who had been too inebriated to think clearly.

"The mapmakers!" the Doctor said with a laugh. "We're safe here. They'll never find us."

"Yeah, not exactly comforting news, that," she said. "I'd call that being stranded."

"But we can live here." The Doctor's face was earnest. "Just us." He picked her up in a hug and spun her around.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Rose pushed him away. Though she would have been thrilled to receive a hug like that from the Doctor under normal circumstances, the Doctor was clearly not in his right mind, and Rose needed to figure out why.

"Doctor, have you had anything to eat or drink?"

"No," the Doctor answered. He then started rambling about a human's need for food and sleep and said something about making a hammock for her.

Rose paced as she tried to determine the source of the Doctor's strange behavior. It could be anything from the slimy stuff that they slid down on to the pollen in the flowers. Whatever it was, it must only affect Time Lords, because she was fine. If she couldn't figure out what the source of the intoxication was and how to reverse it, she would have to find a way out of the pit they were in without any help and somehow convince the Doctor (who seemed enamored with the place) to come with her.

After a moment she stopped pacing and sat on the rock the Doctor had been sitting on earlier. "This is hopeless," she told the flower. She was tired and hot, and she was stuck. As if in answer to her discomfort, a cool wind came from somewhere above and flowed to a crack in the wall opposite her. She enjoyed the feel of the breeze, but it had a sweet smell that reminded Rose of the stewed prunes her neighbor would eat. It almost turned her stomach.

Rose thought the Doctor must have had the same reaction, because she heard a gagging noise coming from his direction. However, when she turned to look him, he was bent over, holding his throat, and gasping for air.

"Doctor!" she shrieked as she ran to his assistance, "What's wrong with you? What happened?"

The Doctor made a sweeping gesture with his hand that Rose guessed to mean "wind" then clutched his throat with both hands.

"That breeze that came through did this?" She asked. "Like an allergic reaction or something?"

The Doctor nodded.

"How exactly?"

The Doctor shot Rose an incredulous look.

"Right. Doesn't matter." Rose looked helplessly as the Doctor struggled more and to breathe. "How do I help you?"

The Doctor pointed to the slippery incline from which they both fell.

They needed to get out. But there was no way they were going to go out the way they came in. Rose thought about the crack where the sickening gush of air had escaped. Maybe that was a way out. She ran over and started tearing vines off the wall. Behind them was a pile of rocks that seemed to be were blocking a larger opening. She removed several of the smaller stones, but there were too many.

"Doctor," Rose said, out of breath. "I don't think I can do this on my own. Not sure what you can do when you can't breathe and all, but if there's any way you can help with a few…"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. Still gasping for breath, he pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his jacket, waved Rose out of the way, and aimed it at the pile of rocks. With bang, the rocks were blasted into smaller pieces, revealing a passage way with stone steps that lead upward. Rose helped steady the Doctor as he climbed the steps, wheezing as he went. By the time they reached the top of the steps Rose did not hear any wheezing or gasping.

"Can you breathe at all?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head. Rose panicked. Though they had reached the top of the steps, she had no idea how to get back to the path. And even if they found it, there was still the spiral staircase they would have to climb before they could leave the caverns and run for the Tardis. She was going to lose him, and there was nothing she could do. Rose blinked back the tears that were in her eyes. She was going to fight till the end.

Rose felt the Doctor squeeze her hand, and she found the strength to look at him. He was smiling tenderly at her.

"It's okay," he mouthed.

"No it's not. You can't survive without air," she said through tears.

The Doctor shrugged and held up his thumb and forefinger to indicate "a little." Then he pointed at an archway ahead. They walked through and ended up back at the location with two openings where the trouble began. There had to be another way out. She looked up in thought and noticed an opening similar to a skylight above them.

"Up there!" she said pointing. "That must be our exit. But how do we get up?"

The Doctor pointed to a fuchsia button on the wall. Rose pushed it and a ladder descended from the ceiling. Rose was thankful that when they grabbed onto it, the ladder pulled them up automatically. Even if the Doctor could survive for a little while without air, she doubted he had the strength for more climbing.

The ladder brought them to the base of the spiral staircase. The Doctor was leaning heavily on Rose now and seemed barely able to stand. He couldn't climb those stairs and she couldn't pull him. But even without the emergency situation, she would not have looked forward to climbing them. In fact, she had a hard time imagining any tourist wanting to go up the stairs, no matter how fun the descent was. There had to be a lift somewhere.

Rose helped the Doctor to sit against one of the walls. "I'm gonna look for a lift," she told him.

Rose searched the walls along the entrance room for a button or a door. There was nothing. She looked up—nothing. Rose walked in a circle around the staircase. It appeared that going up step by step was the only way out. She stomped her feet in frustration. When she did, the grating that surrounded the spiral staircase began to glow. Guardrails rose from the ground around its circumference with enough space to allow people to enter. Then the entire circle that surrounded the stairs rose about a foot.

Rose jumped off and ran to the Doctor. She half dragged him to the unique lift and laid him on the grating. She found a fuchsia button on the guardrail and pressed it. When she did, the disk-like platform rose in the air, supported by telescoping pillars below. By the time they had reached the top, the Doctor was not conscious. Rose crouched behind the Doctor and grabbed him under the arms. Then she dragged him slowly to the Tardis, backing up the entire way.

Rose only paused for breath once she had entered the Tardis. She put a hand on his chest nervously. She could still feel a heartbeat. That was good news. _Wait_. Did she feel _two_ heartbeats? She hoped that was even better news. What mattered is, that by some miracle, he was still alive. Rose ran to the medical bay and found a wheelchair. She ran with it back to the console room and, with much struggling, wrestled the Doctor into the chair. Then she pushed him back to the med bay, running the entire way.

"Now what?" she said aloud as she stood in the midst of the med bay. The room must have detected the presence of the Doctor and Rose, because a light from above swept over the Doctor and scanned him. Instantly afterwards, one of the doors of the chemist cupboard opened automatically. A conveyer belt system brought something that looked like a computerized needle to the front of the cupboard shelf. A monitor to the left displayed instructions: "Place auto-jab behind ear and press button."

Rose did as instructed, closing her eyes after she pushed the button. A second later the Doctor gasped for air.

"Doctor!" she cried in relief. "You're okay!"

The Doctors lips curved into a weak smile. "Because of you," he said.

"I know," she teased. "You owe me."

He nodded and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "Thank you," he said.

She returned the squeeze. "Anytime," she said. But the Doctor had fallen asleep.

* * *

"You have two hearts," Rose said to the Doctor later in the evening while they were enjoying a meal together.

"Yes," said the Doctor as he took a forkful of shepherd's pie. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Rose said. "It's fascinating. And when you stopped breathing, you somehow survived."

"Respiratory bypass," he said. "If something blocks my airway, I can take in oxygen through my skin."

"Sometimes I forget you're not human."

"Thanks," said The Doctor sarcastically, but he wasn't upset. He sat watching Rose for a moment. He was thankful she continued to want to travel with him, as alien as he must seem to her.

Rose pushed the food around her plate distractedly. "What happened to you in that garden pit?"

"The winds that came through contained gasses in the praxis range. I'm allergic."

"But before you stopped breathing you acted…different."

"Before you dropped in—," he started.

"Literally," interjected Rose.

The Doctor snickered at her remark. "Before you dropped in, the winds came through. Smaller amounts of praxis gas affect the neurotransmitters in my brain much like alcohol or drugs would to you." He paused and pondered the implications of that lack of control. The Doctor had little recollection of that portion of the day and he hoped he had not said anything too embarrassing. "What did I do?"

"You kept going on about that room not being on the map," she told him. "You also talked about living there and…well…that's it. Then the gasses came through again and you stopped breathing."

"And you saved the day," he said with appreciation.

"So what was in that jab I gave you?" asked Rose. "Maybe you should keep it with you in case this happens again."

"Celery juice," answered the Doctor. "But that's only for extreme cases. A few bites of celery is enough when I'm still able to eat it." He took another bite of his meal and continued. "Celery leaves turn purple when praxis gas is present, so I would have been warned if I had some with me."

"Maybe you should carry it with you, then," said Rose

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. "And where would I put the celery? Wear it on my lapel?"

"No, that'd be kind of odd," she said. "It was just a thought. Keeps you safe..."

The thought that Rose worried about his safety warmed his hearts. Every day he was more glad she was in his company. "So has your opinion of April Fool's Day changed?" he asked, remembering the purpose of their excursion.

"No," said Rose with a small laugh. "Parts were wonderful. But seeing as how one of us almost died, I am happy staying away from the day."

"And from caves," added the Doctor. "I've had bad luck with caves before."

Rose acknowledged his comment with a small nod then went back to her pie. There was something personal about sharing a meal with her. He had felt it the first time they ate chips together. They had more time to talk when they weren't running for their lives or distracted by the spectacle of the day. The Doctor realized he wanted more chances to just sit and talk with her. There were so many places he wanted to take her, but they could wait. Tomorrow the Doctor was going to pick the most serene location possible and take Rose Tyler on a picnic.

* * *

**Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to my daughter, known here as YoungWhovianGirl, who came up with a spectacular name for a planet by misreading "Assort. Pan Dulce" on a breakfast menu. I told her right then that I would eventually use it in a story. The meaning of the planet name was arrived at by looking at the Latin roots the invented name happened to contain.**

**To live in a fool's paradise is to be happy because you do not know or will not accept how bad a situation really is. (Definition from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus)**

**The bits about praxis gas, celery, and the Doctor's bad luck with caves are a reference to _The Caves of Androzani_,** **which is the four-part episode in which the Fifth Doctor regenerates into the Sixth Doctor.**

**And thanks to Montana for noticing the timing of April Fool's Day. I am glad someone is actually noticing the little details! In 2005, Easter was on the 27th of March, so April Fool's Day (which Rose tried to ignore) would have been a few days later. By the time the Doctor noticed it had been passed they were at April 9th by Rose's system of keeping track of dates. **


	5. Ch5 Picnics, Perils, & Prat Falls: Prt 1

**Calendar Girl**

**Author's Note:** This is my first two-part mini-story because it spans two (or three-ish) adventures. It does not have much to do with the calendar this time around, but is important to the story arc nonetheless. And since it starts with a plan for a spring activity, still falls within April's calendar.

This story does cover "Dalek," but I did my best not to make it just a re-write. The second part will tie some of the things brought up in this one, and you will see that "Dalek" is just one small part of that.

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Picnics, Perils, and Prat Falls: Part One**

Adam Mitchell was only on board the Tardis because Rose Tyler was still alive and the Doctor would have done anything she asked in gratitude of that fact. She had made hints about the young man's desire to see the stars right before the two of them were about to leave. Still, the Doctor was not happy about the extra passanger. She acted like Adam was a lost puppy in need of a home, but the Doctor was not in the business of taking in strays, no matter how adorable Rose might find them. And he didn't believe for one moment that she hadn't noticed that Adam was one of the pretty boys.

But it wasn't jealousy that made the doctor reluctant to have him on his ship (not completely, anyway); it was that Adam was a prat. The Doctor could tell from the moment he had laid eyes on this young English kid, that though he might be a genius by human standards, he lacked any real substance or wisdom. Adam touted his intelligence like a peacock parading his feathers, but the Doctor predicted he would last one, maybe two, excursions before he would be completely out of his element. Meanwhile Rose (his wonderful, beautiful, fully-alive Rose) who had never passed her A-levels would run circles around him with her eyes closed. And once Adam finally did beg to be taken home, the Doctor would never take in strays again for any reason—not even because someone lived, and especially not pretty boys who were full of themselves. But for now he would tolerate anything because Rose Tyler was alive. And that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

* * *

"Where're we goin'?" Rose had asked the Doctor that morning. She had entered the console room shortly after she had eaten breakfast and noticed that the Time Rotor was already in motion.

"Not tellin'," the Doctor lips were closed tightly, but the edges of his mouth turned upwards in a slight grin.

"Not even a hint?" Rose took a peek at the monitor, but because it was just a series of circles, lines, and semicircles, it told her nothing.

"Nope." The Doctor turned the monitor so that only he could see it. Rose wondered if he had forgotten that she couldn't decipher it, or if the action was just a physical show of his nondisclosure.

"Fine," Rose said with a mock pout that she had hoped would get him to divulge some information. When it had no effect, she sat down dramatically on the jump seat with an audible "humph" and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She thought she noticed the corner of the Doctor's mouth twitch in amusement, but apparently the stubborn-yet-cute child act was not going to work on him. She knew it was rather immature anyway, so she resolved herself to wait and be surprised. She wasn't even sure why she was so intrigued with the day's destination. If she had to guess, it was likely because there was something different about the Doctor's demeanor. The Doctor had had kept their journey's eventual outcome a secret before, but usually he made hints or statements to play up how great the adventure would be or how very impressive he was for thinking of it. Today he seemed to be both nervous and excited, as if it was the of utmost importance that Rose appreciate their eventual destination. As Rose considered the meaning of the Doctor's actions, she noticed a small wicker basket about the size of a child's lunch box on the jump seat. "What's in the basket?" she asked as she started untying the strings holding the flap of the basket closed.

"Our lunch, now stop your snooping." The Doctor frowned, but his tone was playful.

"How's that enough for both of us?" Rose asked.

"Bigger on the inside," the Doctor said. "Time Lord science isn't just for the Tardis, you know." He pointed to his left. "Now turn that dial."

"Weren't we out of almost everything?" Rose asked. She hopped off the jump seat and turned the dial he had pointed to. "When did you get food? Did you actually go shopping?"

"So many questions!" the Doctor said with a chuckle. "Yes I went shopping. Last night, on Earth, in Europe, sometime in the 1980s."

"But what about sleep?" Rose asked, amazed. She knew the Doctor always turned in before she did, but Rose had always assumed he shut things down and retired to his own room soon after.

"Seems to me you got enough." He glanced quickly in her direction then circled to the opposite side of the console.

"Not me, you!" she said with a roll of her eyes as she moved to the place he was standing.

"Don't need as much," the Doctor said with a shrug.

"Oh." Rose stood a moment pondering that fact. It occurred to her that not only was the Doctor still awake when she finally went to bed, he was also always up before her. "How much sleep do you need?" she asked.

He glanced at his wristwatch as if the answer was written on it. "I can get by with an hour a night for about a fortnight without feeling tired," he said "but I prefer two-and-a-half to three hours."

Once again Rose was reminded that the Doctor was not human. She watched him flip switches for a few minutes (and at one point even hit the edge of the console with a mallet) as this truth sunk deeper into her consciousness. Sometimes he seemed so human, but then a simple thing like the amount of sleep they each needed would come up and make her aware that she and the Doctor were still aliens to each other. She told herself it shouldn't matter, but what if their differences were too great? What if he grew weary of her stupid human needs like sleep or marking time on a calendar? She was willing to travel with him indefinitely, but was he as equally committed to having her aboard? Rose's heart sank at the thought of him growing tired of her, but then she chided herself for getting upset over a hypothetical scenario. Instead she focused on the adventure du jour. "So where're we going, anyway?" Rose asked.

"Nice try."

* * *

The Doctor smiled at Rose and she smiled back with a bit of her tongue peeking through her teeth. He hoped she would think the payoff was worth keeping her in suspense. To Rose this was just another trip. He tried to convince himself he thought the same, but it felt different, and in many ways it went against his better judgment. He had chosen a beautiful setting based on her interests and went to great lengths to prepare a special meal that appeared to be effortless. He even chose new jeans and wore his sage jumper (which was his favorite because he thought he looked the best in it). Though it had not occurred to him in the planning, now that everything was in motion, it was apparent to him that the details corresponded to the courtship rituals of Earth's Western culture in the early twenty-first century. More specifically, the excursion closely resembled a first date. Though Rose had joked about his quality as a date when she had bought them both chips after they had visited Platform One, Rose's statement had clearly been made in jest and the sentiment and intention of that shared meal was very different than what he was feeling now.

Of course, that brought up questions about his feelings and the purpose for making arrangements that could be so easily mistaken for a date—questions for which he did not have clear answers. He'd traveled with companions before, and most of them had been young human females, but this was because they reminded him of his granddaughter, Susan. None of them had gotten to him the way Rose had. She was only nineteen, but she already showed more wisdom and intuition than humans twice or three times her age. Rose was special; there was no doubt about it, but he would be foolish to forget what she was. She was human—a brilliant one at that—but she would flash and spark and be gone in a blink. Even if she stayed with him till the end of her days, it would still be too short. But she would leave before that. Eventually she would tire of his life of wandering and running and desire to settle down and live a predictable life—likely with some human male. This last thought filled him with a mix of anger and hurt, and it was this reaction that let him know he was in trouble. His people would not have approved of the amount of attention he gave this simple human girl. But his people were gone. And while that meant there were no other Time Lords to judge him, it also meant he was alone. Perhaps this was one reason that his attachment to her was so strong: he didn't want to be alone. But the Doctor knew it was deeper than that. He didn't need just any traveling companion; he needed her.

The Doctor ceased his musings and realized that, while lost in thought, he had done nothing to actively pilot the Tardis. Therefore he was thankful to see that (despite a long history of landing him in the wrong place and time) they were still right on target. In just a moment the Tardis would land on a high peak and Doctor would show Rose the breathtaking view of a landscape reminiscent of the world created by Tolkien. Then he would move the Tardis to a grassy knoll evoking visions of the Shire and set out a luxurious picnic. Just as the Doctor was about to announce their arrival, there was a jolt and the Tardis changed course. The Doctor swiveled the monitor over and peered at a signal on his screen. He cursed under his breath. All he wanted was one day of peace with no rescuing, no running, and no danger; but once again some cosmic force had thrown a spanner in the works. Today, however, the Doctor refused to be controlled by the chaos of chance. He had a time machine. He would proceed with the picnic as planned and come back to the crisis at hand when they were done.

It was a sound plan, but the Tardis was stuck. They were being pulled in.

"Change of plans, Rose," the Doctor said trying to keep the mood light. "Lunch has to wait a bit."

His tone must not have been convincing, because the moment the Tardis landed and they cautiously exited, Rose asked, "So what is it? What's wrong?"

"Don't know," he said as he looked around and got his bearings. "Some kind of signal drawing the Tardis off course."

"Where are we?" she asked as she looked around the dimly lit room.

"Earth. Utah, North America. About half a mile underground," he said, still feeling slightly irritated.

"And _when_ are we?" Rose asked.

"Two thousand and twelve," he said. He noticed a worm-like creature that had been preserved in a display case and peered at it curiously.

"God, that's so close. So I should be twenty six," she said, looking in his direction.

The Doctor didn't respond. He couldn't help but notice that Rose was still thinking about time and her relative age in a very linear fashion. And if she did, what then did he think of his age and seeming lack of concern for doing things in any order?

He found a light switch, and the whole place lit up when he flipped it. Cases like the one he had been examining were lined up in neat rows for several meters, and each one of them contained and alien artifact. He and Rose commented on the place's similarity to a museum as a sense of foreboding tickled at the edges of his mind. In front of him in a case was the head of a Cyberman. The Doctor should have trusted his instincts and run the other way, but he couldn't abandon whatever needed his help.

"The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit. I'm getting old," he said. It was both a commentary on the situation and an acknowledgement that his life and that of his youthful companion were light years apart. He chided himself for planning the picnic and daring to even entertain the idea that it could be a date. She was nineteen and could have her pick of any young man; he was nine hundred years old and no one she could ever view as more than a friend. He could offer her adventure and a chance to look at life more broadly than she had before, but he was a fool to think it was possible (or even proper) to hope for anything more. As the Doctor pondered the foolishness of his infatuation with the very young and very human Rose, he touched the edge of the display. When he did, alarms sounded, armed guards surrounded them, and a new nightmare began that chased all thoughts of a picnic from his mind.

* * *

The Doctor and Rose were escorted to the office of Henry van Statten, and it took mere seconds for the Doctor to be thoroughly disgusted with the man who collected alien artifacts and kept an alien creature locked up as his "pet." The Doctor's opinion was more fully validated when van Statten spoke about Rose disrespectfully and tried to pair her off with his young assistant, Adam Mitchell, simply because they shared a homeland.

But things went rapidly from annoying to perilous when the Doctor was locked in with the creature that van Statten called the Metaltron. First he saw a blue light in the darkness, and addressed it kindly, but then he heard a familiar electronic voice say his name.

"DOC-TOR?"

The Doctor felt terror rise up within him. He was face to face with a Dalek, and he knew the next word that the creature would say would be the last he ever heard:

"EXTERMINATE!"

But it didn't work. The metallic battle armor that encased the creature inside was badly damaged, as was its gunstick. The Doctor taunted his enemy that had somehow escaped the Time War, and it taunted him back, claiming that they were the same because they were both the last of their kind. Overtaken by fury, the Doctor determined to end the Time War once and for all by killing the loathsome creature chained before him. He flipped a switch that sent electricity charging into the Dalek and ignored its cries, but van Statten's guards stopped him. Van Statten, who now knew that the Doctor was not from Earth, chained him up and examined him with a scanner that that caused him to writhe in pain. The Doctor was released only because a red alert signalled that the Dalek had escaped.

On a screen, the Doctor saw Rose Tyler outside the Dalek's cage. "Doctor, it's all my fault," she said. He would later learn that Rose touched the Dalek and that part of her DNA had helped it regenerate. At the moment he didn't care if it was her fault or not, he just cared about her safety. So he was glad that a guard had evacuated her and Adam from the area.

The Dalek escaped, downloaded the internet, and used the energy from the several states to fully repair itself. It was now a killer bent on exterminating every living thing, and it had started with van Statten's guards. Bullets bounced off the Dalek's armor, and the Dalek made sure that the Doctor saw it happen on screen. Then it addressed the Doctor, asking for direction. It was a soldier and there was no one left to give it orders.

The Doctor stared at his enemy on the screen, hatred bubbling in him like a volcano about to burst. "Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct?" the Doctor shouted to the Dalek on the screen. "Rid the Universe of your filth. Why don't you just _die_!" The Doctor's hearts raced with the fury of his words.

"YOU WOULD MAKE A GOOD DALEK" said his enemy calmly.

The words stung and it took a second for the Doctor to focus. He had to defeat it. The only solution was to seal the vaults by setting a command to seal the bulkheads one by one, but Rose and Adam were still down there. He waited as long as he could to ensure Rose could escape, but power was failing and he had no choice but to proceed. He called her mobile phone urging her to get to safety, but it was too late.

"Sorry, I was a bit slow," she said sadly.

The Doctor felt his chest tighten.

"Sealed in, Doctor," Rose's voice said from over the phone line. "It wasn't your fault. Remember that, okay? It wasn't your fault."

The Doctor wanted to argue, but all he could do was listen

"And do you know what?" Rose continued. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

The Doctor wanted to speak, to say something—anything—to her while he still had the chance, but no words came. Then he heard the Dalek shout "EXTERMINIATE!", and a blast from its weapon stalk reverberated in his ear. Rose Tyler was gone.

"I killed her," he said. The Dalek may have been the one fire at her, but it was his fault. His people were gone, and now the only other creature in the universe worth living for had been taken from him.

"I'm sorry," van Statten said. But the stupid ape should not have spoken. The Doctor directed his pain and anger onto the megalomaniac who let all others fall—including Rose—in his quest to touch the stars.

"You just want to drag the stars down and stick them underground, underneath tons of sand and dirt, and label them," the Doctor shouted at him. "You're about as far from the stars as you can get." The reality of the loss set in and the Doctor spoke again, his voice wavering with grief, "And you took her down with you. She was nineteen years old."

Adam ran into the room, and his presence brought back the Doctor's anger. "You were quick on your feet, leaving Rose behind," he snapped at the young man the moment he entered.

Adam snapped back at him just as quickly. "I'm not the one who sealed the vault!"

They were interrupted by the voice of the Dalek.

"OPEN THE BULKHEAD OR ROSE TYLER DIES," commanded the Dalek.

The Doctor turned in the direction of the voice and gasped as a weight lifted from him. On a screen was the image of Rose Tyler, alive and well.

"You're alive!" he said. His grin was so wide, it hurt the edges of his cheeks..

"Can't get rid of me," Rose quipped.

The memory of what the Doctor thought had happened invaded his joy. "I thought you were dead," he said. His sadness had a sharp edge of self-directed anger.

"OPEN THE BULKHEAD!" demanded the Dalek.

"Don't do it!" Rose said. It was just the thing he expected her to say. Once again, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save others. But an irrational voice in his wanted to forget the others and save her instead.

"WHAT USE ARE EMOTIONS IF YOU WILL NOT SAVE THE WOMAN YOU LOVE?" asked the Dalek.

_It was just a taunt_, the Doctor reasoned. Daleks did not understand love. A bit of Rose's DNA and knowledge from the internet could not cause a Dalek to understand the complexity of love. But in a split second, the Doctor's mind flooded with thoughts that had previously skirted on the edge of his consciousness. She was beautiful—not just for a human, but for anyone—and her smile could chase away the demons of the Time War. He trusted her with his life and, increasingly, with his past. She was the only thing in the universe that gave him hope and he couldn't imagine living without her.

Did he love Rose Tyler?

An image of Downing Street flashed in his mind. He stood across the table from the girl he had known only days, but almost lost twice. He had stalled to implement the plan to save the world because she was caught in the middle. _I could save the world but lose you._

He loved Rose Tyler—surprisingly, but fully and deeply. He loved her, and this time he was putting her first.

"I killed her once. I can't do it again," he said. He pushed the button to open the bulkheads.

What happened next was a blur. He had to kill the Dalek and save Rose. Though he rarely used weapons, he waded through the junk Adam had not catalogued till he found a gun that would work. Moments later he stood in front of Rose, ready to shoot the thing he hated most. But Rose stopped him.

"It couldn't kill me. It's changing," she said. "What about you, Doctor? What the hell are you changing into?"

He saw her look of disappointment and lowered the gun. "I couldn't," he started. "I wasn't..." He looked into her eyes to find the strength to speak. "Oh, Rose. They're all dead."

The Dalek asked Rose for permission to die, and she granted it. The Dalek was no more, by its own doing. In silence, they made their way back to the Tardis, the only piece of home he had left.

"The Dalek survived. Maybe some of your people did too," suggested Rose. He knew it wasn't true, but he appreciated her attempts to comfort him.

"I'd know. In here," he said pointing to his head. "Feels like there's no one."

"Well then, good thing I'm not going anywhere," she said.

"Yeah," he replied. At least that was true for now. Despite everything that had happened, it would be ok. He remembered the picnic basket that was still on the jump seat. He could still share it with the girl who stole his hearts. Maybe the meal would be less about his need to impress Rose and more about reflecting on the day, but at least she was still by his side: his beautiful, wonderful Calendar Girl.

The Doctor's thoughts were interrupted by Adam who had run to tell them the place was about to be buried. It ruined his revelry, and the Doctor tried to get rid of him, not caring if he was being rude. But Rose's hints to invite him along were obvious. The Doctor wanted Rose to himself, but at least she was alive and promising to stay with him. If picking up this stray made her happy, then he would do it. He was pretty sure the boy genius wouldn't last long anyway.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I will try my best to get Part 2 up in about 24 hours (so Monday morning.) I know we do not get to see much of Rose's point of view in this chapter, but her part is coming.

After that, I will update this story as it corresponds to the actual holiday/event I am writing about. (If not sooner). That being said, there is one more adventure that takes place in April, and one that takes place in very early May, but I need to update my other story as well, so those two will be a tad out of sync with our real-life calendar.

If you follow "The Way We Were", my hope is to start posting on a schedule with that one. My goal would be every Saturday night, which means whatever time I go to bed after Saturday, even it is technically Sunday morning. (And even if I posted at 11:59 it would be Sunday for most anyway.) If I am late, then my late day to post would be Tuesday night.

Thanks everyone for your patience. I am happy to be writing again!


	6. Ch6 Picnics, Perils, & Prat Falls: Prt 2

**Temporary FYI: I added a scene I was missing that needed to be there. It is after the line break that starts with "Rose was tired of baby minding Adam."**

**Calendar Girl Chapter 6 - Picnics, Perils, and Prat Falls: Part 2**

Rose wasn't sure what to think of Adam Mitchell. As a child he had been a troublemaker who thought it was funny to set an entire nation on alert for war just because he could. And maybe he really was a genius, but it was hard to find that impressive when your standard for intelligence was a nine hundred year old Time Lord. Besides, he lacked a bit of common sense when he didn't instantly flee from van Statten the minute he realized that the man wiped clean the memories of any employee who angered him. But he had been kind at least, and she could identify with the desire do something important with one's life. Certainly that was worth giving him a chance, even if the Doctor said it was on her own head if things did not go over well. She just wanted him to see the things she had seen and help broaden his horizons.

And, yes, Adam was handsome. She had lied somewhat when she told the Doctor she hadn't noticed he was (in the Doctor's words) "a bit pretty". What she had meant is that his looks didn't matter to her—or at least that they shouldn't. Looks only got you so far if your character didn't match, and the verdict was still out on that one. Still, he was nice to look at. He had a round face that gave him a boyish type of charm, and his grin was the cute kind that caused dimples on each side of his face. His eyes were as dark and as deep as the expanse of space that surrounded the Tardis, and his thick black hair was something Rose was quite tempted to run her fingers through—just once to see if it felt as good as it looked. But Rose attributed this desire to the fact that her last (current?) boyfriend didn't have the type of hair to make that possible. And the Doctor kept his hair cropped so short that even if she attempted to...

Rose felt her face flush in embarrassment even though neither man in the console room was paying attention to her or had any idea what she was thinking. The Doctor was going overboard spelling out rules of conduct for Adam that Rose had never been held to, and he hadn't let Adam walk further than the ramp that started at the doors of the Tardis. So neither of them had noticed when she visually surveyed the Tardis' newest passenger then let her eyes wander to its pilot. Nevertheless, with one partial thought, it was no longer Adam's features Rose was assessing, and she knew her cheeks were now a bright crimson.

Rose's breath caught in her throat. She swallowed as she tried to steady her breathing. Her heart was beating so rapidly that for one brief moment she imagined herself to be a hummingbird. It was probably good that she wasn't one, though, because her limbs felt too wobbly to use properly, and she feared her knees were about to buckle underneath her. She backed up slowly till the back of her legs hit the jump seat. Then steadying herself with her hands, she lifted herself up to sit down.

What on Earth—no—what in the whole bloody _universe_ had come over her? This was the Doctor for heaven's sake! She had been traveling with him for about a month and nothing had changed—not a thing! Just about every day they saw something fantastic (did she just use the word "fantastic"?), just about every day they almost got killed or were otherwise put in danger, and just about every day they had to hold hands and run. So why in all of the great expanse of time and space, when there was a human bloke her age who clearly fit the profile of handsome _right on board_, did she find herself so overwhelmingly attracted to the Doctor of all people?

Rose scrunched up her face, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. This helped her concentrate, but she did it because it had the added bonus of helping her resist the temptation to stare. There had to be some logical scientific explanation for this sudden change. Maybe there was something in the air akin to the praxis gas that had affected the Doctor on Astro Pandellus, except that it only affected human females. Or maybe her latest close call with death had caused her to develop some sort of short-term hero worship. (The problem with that theory is that other than opening up the bulkheads, the Doctor he really hadn't done much saving this time around.) The most likely explanation was that having another male aboard to compare him to had caused her to appreciate his appearance, which she had hitherto been too busy to notice.

But "appreciate" was the epitome of British understatement. Rose opened her eyes and dared to look toward the Tardis doors. She caught sight of the Doctor's profile and again found breathing normally to be a difficult task. Why had she never before noticed his chiseled jaw line and prominent cheekbones? His nose was prominent as well, but in a stately way. She would have called it a Roman nose if he had not been a Time Lord, and therefore not the slightest bit Roman. And Rose knew the Doctor was a bit self-conscious about his ears, but blimey if they didn't complete the look perfectly! The Doctor's features were magnificent: rugged, mature, and (dare she think it?) sexy. Rose's gaze drifted to the Doctor's broad shoulders and overall physique, but she had to look away. There was no doubt he was fit, but it was in her best interest if she didn't dwell upon that fact too long.

Rose returned to the previous posture of scrunched face and temple massage. She could hear the Doctor's authoritative voice lay down the law to Adam. That too caused quite a stir within her, and Rose realized that she was going to have find a way to sublimate her feelings. It would be more than a bit uncomfortable if the Doctor realized that Rose suddenly fancied him. But as Rose sat with her face in her hands, she realized that her feelings weren't sudden at all. Adam's contrasting appearance might have been a catalyst to bring her feelings to the surface, but she realized that her mother had astutely noticed her infatuation when they were in London battling the Slitheen. This was not good at all.

Rose felt a hand on her shoulder and she heard the Doctor's voice say, "You okay, Rose?" It made her jump, which in turn made her blush in embarrassment.

"I-I'm fine," she said with a noticeable waver in her voice. "I'm just..." She had think of a quick excuse for her strange behavior. Out the corner of her eye, she noticed the small picnic basket. "...hungry. That's all. Running for your life can make a person a bit peckish." She managed flash him a shaky smile before she had to look away again.

"Right. Missed lunch," the Doctor said. "Let's get you something to eat." Then he turned to the young man standing next to him. "Looks like the kitchen will be the first room on you grand tour."

"There are more rooms than this?" Adam asked. The amazement in his voice was hard to miss.

" 'Course there are," said the Doctor with a tone of offense. "You didn't think we ate and slept in here did you?"

"Didn't give it much thought actually," Adam said. "I was too busy trying to memorize the rules."

The Doctor didn't respond. Instead he turned his attention back to Rose and offered her a hand to help her up. But when she took his hand, the electricity that ran through her overwhelmed her. And since she didn't apply any counter pressure, she stumbled forward into his arms.

God, he even smelled good.

"Blood sugar must be low," commented the Doctor with a frown. "Oi, Adam. Come help steady Rose."

Adam put an arm around her and walked beside her as they made their way to the kitchen. She didn't want give Adam too much attention and send the wrong message about her intentions for inviting him along, but she found it much easier to think clearly with the Doctor a few paces in front of her. That is, until her eyes—which were still focused downward—accidently got a glimpse of his backside.

Rose's knees buckled, and she stumbled. Adam firmed his grip on her. "So is missing meals common?" Adam asked. Rose thought he sounded worried.

"Just depends," Rose said, glad to find that she was speaking normally. "Some trips can be a bit...crazy," she said "but the Tardis is set to mimic Earth's daily cycle. So when we stay in the Vortex things are pretty predictable." Rose gave Adam a reassuring smile and continued. "We try to land close to the same time of day as Tardis time to try to keep things in order," she said, stretching the truth so as not to add to Adam's apprehension. She was basing this solely on the time the Doctor landed deliberately for an evening meal in Birmingham.

Rose felt her heartbeat quicken. Great—one fleeting thought about the Doctor and she was a mess again! She had to do her best to think about something else.

"What's the Vortex?" asked Adam. "I know what a vortex is in general, of course, but you're speaking of something specific." Rose rolled her eyes inwardly at his genius posturing, but was glad to have something to talk about.

"That's short for Time Vortex," she said, with a tone of authority worthy of a professor. "It is essentially the roadway by which we travel." Rose surprised herself with her syntax and word choice and smiled slightly at how intelligent she sounded.

"But how does it work?" Adam asked.

Bugger. That was more difficult to answer and she wasn't about to ask the...well, anyone...for specifics. She paused as if she were out of breath to give herself time to come up with an answer. "Well it's rather difficult to explain fully, but it's basically a dimension outside our timeline that connects all of time and space together. You have to be really accurate when you navigate or you can end up in the wrong place rather easily." It sounded good at least, but Rose hoped that the...that no one else was really paying attention.

"So basically it's a spiral-based transdimensional thoroughfare akin to a wormhole in which all chronological and spatial points intersect, conglomerate, and disperse," he said.

_What? _Rose was pretty sure that was English, but she couldn't follow it.

"Exactly," Rose said doing her best to continue displaying the confidence of a professor. "Well done."

Adam beamed liked a pupil who had received merit points.

After a few more paces, they stopped at a doorway. "Kitchen," said the Doctor gruffly, gesturing toward the door.

Rose and Adam entered and sat at the table. Rose noticed a third chair at the table that had not been there before. The Tardis never ceased to amaze her. Now that she was in the kitchen, she realized she actually was hungry and lightheaded. With elbows on the table, she rested her hands in her head to keep from feeling woozy. Hopefully she could milk the low-blood-sugar thing and someone would serve her, because she really didn't feel like getting up.

Rose heard the sound of a refrigerator door being opened and slammed shut. This same sound was repeated with the pantry doors of three separate pantries. Heavy boots plodded to the walk-in refrigerator. Heavy boots stomped out of the walk-in refrigerator. A bunch of bananas was set on the table.

"That's all there is in here," the Doctor said. "Be right back."

Rose remembered that they had been low on food the day before, but the Doctor had gone shopping. Apparently he only bought enough food for their lunch. She felt warmth rise to her cheeks, and she knew she was about to blush. Time for diversions again.

"Any other questions I can answer?" Rose asked as the Doctor left the room. She peeled a banana, broke a small piece off and put it in her mouth.

She did her best for the next fifteen minutes to sound like an authority as she answered Adam's questions about time travel, the Tardis, and aliens. It was a great distraction, but she was glad when the Doctor returned with the basket and placed an array of meats and cheeses, fruit, and French baguettes on the table in front of her.

"You know a lot about how things run around here," Adam said to Rose as he reached for a piece of bread, "but it's the Doctor's ship, right?" He looked at the Doctor who at just sat down in the empty chair to his right. "No offense, but it can't be yours. You're just a normal girl, and even extraordinary humans don't have this type of technology."

"Not in two thousand twelve," Rose said with a shrug. "How do you know I'm not from the future?" She stole a quick glance at the Doctor. She hoped she hadn't offended him by challenging Adam's assumption. She was relieved when she saw him raise his eyebrows then chuckle silently.

"I don't. It's just the way the Doctor was talking, I thought..." With a confused look, Adam pointed at the Doctor then let his hand drop as he shook his head.

Rose smiled then chuckled. "No you're right. I was just winding you up. Sorry," She put a hand on his shoulder. "Still. Things are a bit different when you travel with the Doctor. Things aren't always what you might suppose."

She was starving and her brain was beginning to hurt, so she let the Doctor take over the question-and-answer session while she ate. And though she interjected here and there, she avoided eye contact with the Doctor, looking instead at a fixed point slightly to his right or at Adam.

* * *

When the Doctor returned with the picnic basket, Rose and Adam were talking and laughing like old friends. It was also clear by the way Adam kept touching her hand or shoulder and the amount of times he fluffed his hair that he was flirting with her. The Doctor was less clear if Rose was reciprocating or just being a good hostess. However, he was aware that while the three of them ate, she looked directly at Adam but never once made eye contact with him. He tried not to be hurt by this fact. Adam was the shiny new toy in the room, after all, and a human like she was. It was to be expected. If she decided to pursue something with the kid, he would not stand in the way. He would even help her. He wanted her to be happy, even if it hurt him.

As the meal went on, the Doctor considered reversing his original sentiment. Adam was a pompous git. The Doctor had heard Rose answer Adam's initial question. She answered very basically, but accurately, and the Doctor was rather proud of her understanding. But Adam came back with a show of synonyms that sounded more technical and intelligent. Sometimes larger technical words _did_ offer a preciseness in explanation that was not possible with simpler words (and the Doctor would sometimes default to them out of habit) but Adam was doing it to show off.

At first they were both explaining things to him, then Rose focused on eating, which meant the Doctor was stuck answering his insufferable questions alone.

"So if you travel in time, can you go to the last day of your life and watch yourself die?" Adam asked.

"Now why would I want to go and do that?" asked the Doctor with annoyance.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Just asking if it's possible. Maybe you could stop it from happening."

"Then it wouldn't be the day of my death, now would it?" the Doctor said, pointing with a banana.

"No, but..."

"It would be a paradox," the Doctor said. "Something we generally try to avoid."

"Wouldn't _any_ time you mess with history be a paradox?" he asked as he took a handful of strawberries. They were wild strawberries from France that the Doctor had hand picked especially for Rose. Adam ate all of them and didn't even offer to share with her.

"Time is both fluid and fixed," answered the Doctor, barely hiding his irritation. "Not everything is a paradox."

Adam continued his questions until all the food in the basket was empty. The only thing that remained was a bottle of fifty-year-old _Domaine de la Romanee-Conti_ brand Pinot Noir that the Doctor had bought directly from the winery in Burgandy, and there was no way he was wasting something so precious in the company of a prat like Adam. He supposed he could always sell it back.

"So can I see some of the other rooms you mentioned?" Adam asked, directing his question at Rose. "I'd love to try out the swimming pool." The Doctor watched as Adam leaned toward Rose and spoke in lower tone. "Of course, I didn't bring luggage, so I don't have any trunks..."

"We have a wardro—" began Rose.

"Pool's closed," the Doctor said abruptly, interrupting her. "Completely empty. And cracked right down the center. So sorry."

Rose furrowed her brow. "But two days ago, I—"

"Broke when we crash landed," the Doctor said.

"But we didn't cra—"

"So Adam," the Doctor said, cutting her off. "Let me show you the wardrobe and get you a few outfits." He stood, walked toward the doorway and waited for Adam to get up and follow him. "Then I'll show you to your sleeping quarters. Bit small, I'm afraid, but the mattress on the bunk is comfortable and there is a bathroom across the corridor."

"Rose said she has a four poster bed and an en suite bathroom," Adam said as they entered the corridor.

"Yes, but that one's already taken," said the Doctor. "You could use a camp bed and a sleeping bag in the console room if you prefer."

"The sleeping quarters will be fine," Adam said meekly.

"Good."

* * *

Breakfast was interesting. Rose usually had the kitchen to herself, though sometimes the Doctor would join her for a cuppa. At least Rose felt more herself after a good night's sleep. Though she couldn't deny the underlying attraction, she was able to interact with the Doctor normally. Today he sat at the table, leaning back with his arms folded, and watched Adam's every move. It was obvious the Doctor didn't trust him. She rolled her eyes at the Doctor and shook her head. Adam was a bit full of himself, but he was harmless. And there was no trouble he could get into in the kitchen anyway.

"So how does the hierarchy work around here," asked Adam as he sat down with a bowl of Wheatabix.

"What hierarchy?" asked the Doctor incredulously. "There's only two people."

"Three, Doctor," Rose said as she sipped her tea.

"Fine, then he's last," the Doctor said, pointing at Adam.

"So how'd you end up his assistant anyway?" Adam asked Rose.

Rose wasn't sure how to respond. Sure, it was the Doctor's ship. He was the one who knew how to pilot it and how all the time travel rules worked, but she never felt in any way subservient to him. She looked over at the Doctor, beseechingly, hoping he would respond.

"She's not an assistant, she's my friend," the Doctor said with a frown. "I saved her life and she saved mine. Seemed like a good reason to ask her to travel with me." The Doctor grinned at her with a closed mouth grin that stretched across his whole face. Rose didn't even attempt to hide the fact that she was blushing.

* * *

Not long after breakfast, the Doctor, Rose, and Adam stood in the center of the console room.

"Ok Adam," the Doctor said. "What is the first rule of travelling on the Tardis?"

"I'm not seven," Adam said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"First rule," the Doctor said with more force. The last thing he needed was some genius tinkering around and fouling up intricate systems.

"Don't touch anything in the console room," Adam said like a bored child.

"And when we leave the Tardis?"

"Don't wander off."

"Fantastic." The Doctor gestured to the jump seat, and Adam sat down. "Shall we go then?" The Doctor circled the console setting dials and flipping levers. He made a big show of asking Rose to keep an eye on the monitor while he performed these tasks. She gave him a quizzical look, but moved to where the monitor was and pretended to study the screen. The Doctor pushed a button on the side near Adam, then circled around to where Rose was.

"So where to?" he asked quietly. He pointed to the screen to make it appear they were consulting it. At the moment it was just displaying the interior temperature and relative Earth time in Gallifreyan.

"How about the place we almost went yesterday," suggested Rose.

"Some other time," he said. He hoped he could still take her there, even if it wasn't in the way he had planned. He pointed to another segment of the screen. Rose was fully aware of the playacting taking place and played along. She shook her head and pointed to yet a different point on the screen.

"What does this say anyway?" she said barely above a whisper.

The Doctor typed a command on the keyboard and the display changed to English. Rose giggled at the mundane information, and the Doctor felt something in his hearts dance at the sound.

"Anything on your calendar?" He looked at the wall calendar that was taped to the edge of the Time Rotor. After April Fool's Day there was nothing on the grid save a small dot on the twenty-seventh.

"Not for a few weeks, no," she said, sounding shy for some reason. She looked away and brushed the fringe of her hair out her face.

The Doctor looked over at Adam and wiggled his fingers in a wave. Adam responded with a confused look and flat handed single wave. The Doctor was fairly certain now that Rose had little interest in the young man and just tolerated the presence of annoying people better than he did. (After all, she found something redeemable in a Dalek that almost killed her.) Still, he had to make sure his observations were correct.

"Why don't we go somewhere to impress your boyfriend." He kept his face turned toward the screen, but looked out of the corner of his eye to catch her reaction.

"He's not my boyfriend," she said with teeth clenched.

"Might want to tell him that," he said. He looked down at the keyboard, but glanced in her direction. "Still might be fun to show the pretentious prat how smart you are."

"Be nice," she scolded. She made some more nonsensical indications to the screen then pretended to push something on the keyboard. "Besides he's a genius. I can't show off to him."

"He knows a lot and takes tests well." The Doctor said dismissively. He typed in a command which turned the screen back to Gallifreyan. "You think on your feet and ask the right questions. That's huge." The Doctor turned his head to look fully at Rose. He hadn't meant to make her blush, but it only made her look more beautiful.

The Doctor set some real coordinates and circled around the console once more, this time to do things that actually had a purpose. A few minutes later the Tardis had reached its destination. The Doctor gave Rose an almost imperceptible nod, which she returned, and they walked toward the doors.

"Okay, Adam. C'mon," Rose said. "Adam left the jump seat and met them at the doors. "I'm gonna check things out first, then you can come. Doctor why don't you come with me."

Once they had left the Tardis and closed the doors, the Doctor told Rose what she needed to know to impress Adam. Either the bloke would show her the appreciation she deserved, or else he'd stand out as the prat the Doctor perceived him to be.

"So, it's two hundred thousand, and it's a spaceship," he said quietly as he looked around. "No, wait a minute—space station. And uh, go and try that gate over there." He pointed out in front of him. "Off you go." He leaned back against the Tardis, crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows, and waited with and a huge a sincere smile. Even if this ultimately worked against him, scheming with Rose was fun.

Rose opened one of the Tardis doors. "Adam?" she said. "Out you come."

"Where are we?" Adam asked in wonder.

And the show was on. "Good question. Let's see," she said as if she was just figuring it out. "Judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year two hundred thousand"

_Nice ad lib_, thought the Doctor as he did the best to hide his amusement.

"If you listen," she said, pausing (presumably for effect). "Engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station." The Doctor smirked. The girl deserved a BAFTA award. "They could turn the heating down," she said tugging at her collar. Then she headed in the direction the Doctor had pointed out to her. "Tell you what—let's try that gate. Come on!"

The gate lead to a viewing platform overlooking the Earth. The Doctor stood next to Rose, with Adam just behind them.

"And this is…" Rose stalled because the Doctor didn't give her enough information. "I'll let the Doctor describe it."

The Doctor smiled at her quick thinking then described for both of them the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Beside him Rose stood transfixed as he spoke. Behind him he heard a crash. Adam had fainted.

"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor said in a deadpan voice, still looking straight ahead.

"Not anymore," said Rose.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows in amusement. The little prat who talked big had fallen from his pedestal. Quite literally.

* * *

Rose listened as the Doctor tried convince Adam to take it easy and enjoy himself. It seemed that now that the Doctor knew Rose wasn't interested in him, he was being much kinder to him. She was tempted to pour all sorts of meaning into that, but she knew it was best to let it go. As the Doctor talked, however, Rose noticed his description did not match what she saw. Instead of manners and fine dining, there were a food stalls that could have come from her time. The Doctor insisted his watch was right, but something was off.

"They're all human," said Adam as he watched the mass of people. "What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?"

"Good question," the Doctor said. Rose thought she noted concern in his eyes. But as soon as she saw it, it was gone. He was trying to convince Adam he was hungry and not time sick, but it was a bit suspicious that he called him "me old mate" after the dislike he had expressed in the Tardis. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to obtain a long bar filled with credits from a cashpoint and encouraged Adam to go use it.

"Time travel's like visiting Paris" the Doctor said. "You can't just read the guide book, you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double, and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?"

Rose couldn't help but laugh. Yesterday had been hard on both of them, and she appreciated seeing the fun side of the Doctor. She did wonder briefly if he really had kissed complete strangers, but those were the types of thoughts she had to learn to bring under her control.

"Off you go, then," the Doctor teased after Adam had walked out of earshot. "Your first date."

"You're going to get a smack, you are," Rose said with a laugh. Then she followed in the direction Adam had gone in. Date or not, someone had to keep an eye on him.

* * *

Something was up. There _should_ have been more than just humans around and the culture _should_ have been more refined. The Doctor needed to get more information without Adam in the way. So he acted like a mate and sent him off with Rose. She wasn't the only one on the space station worthy of a BAFTA award. By asking a simple question, he found two women who assumed he was a manager conducting a review that might get them promoted to the coveted Floor 500 where the walls were made of gold. They explained that Satelite 5 broadcasted the news and that they were the journalists. Using the management review as a cover he, Rose, and Adam entered a newsroom and watched as the journalist named Cathica sat in a chair surrounded by other people on the floor. A port in the front of her head opened. Information poured directly into her brain and was then transferred to the others with imbedded chips in their skin who dispersed it as news.

The technology was a sign of something very wrong. As he was pondering this, the other journalist he had spoken to was promoted to Floor 500, from which—according to Cathica—no one ever came back.

* * *

Rose was tired of baby minding Adam. Lunch alone had set him on edge, and she had to lend him her time-altered mobile so he could call his family. Then he felt sick from seeing Cathica's head and decided to go to the observation deck.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Rose asked him. It was the right thing to ask, but she really hoped he'd say no.

"No, you stick with the Doctor," Adam told her.

She nodded as if to say, "Okay."

Adam looked down then met her eyes. "You'd rather be with him."

Though she tried not to show it, Adam's statement made her uncomfortable. If her attraction was that obvious to someone she'd known only twenty-four hours, did that mean the Doctor could tell as well? She felt the same feeling in the pit of her stomach as she did when she was in Year 8 and Gemma Atkins told Christopher Pearson in front of his whole football team that Rose fancied him. She avoided Christopher Pearson and his friends until she left secondary school.

"It's going to take a better man than me to get between you two," Adam said.

His first statement made Rose uncomfortable, but this one was confusing. It wouldn't be hard to find a man who'd be more worthy of her affection that Adam, but there was nothing going on between the Doctor and her for anyone to get between. At least she didn't think so. The Dalek's taunt from the day before had intruded her thoughts when she was trying to ignore her attraction to the Doctor, but Rose assumed they were empty words. Since Daleks usually only understood hate, it made sense that any positive emotion which that particular Dalek tried to understand would be mistaken to be love. Besides, she had used the same word to describe her affection for her mum, her friends, and Ben and Jerry's Cheesecake Brownie Ice Cream. The Doctor and Rose were friends—pretty much best friends—but she knew that is all they'd ever be.

Rose gave Adam her Tardis key in case he wanted to rest there instead of the observation deck. As he walked away she did her best to shake the last few statements from her mind, then went to find the Doctor. Finally she could help without Adam getting in the way. They learned from questioning Cathica that the progress the Doctor expected to see was prevented when Satelite 5 began running ninety-one years ago.

Rose helped the Doctor break into the mainframe to learn more, but the temperature on the floor was boiling. She asked why, but Cathica didn't know nor seem to care. The Doctor told Cathica that Rose was asking the right kind of questions, and after dealing with the wrong kind of questions from Adam, Rose felt this was very high praise. The pluming schematics indicated that something on Floor 500 was generating a lot of heat

"Well, I don't know about you," Rose said to the Doctor, "but I feel like I'm missing out on a party. It's all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?"

She asked Cathica to come too, but she feared for her job.

"That's her gone," the Doctor said brightly after they entered the lift. "Adam's given up." He turned slightly and looked directly at her with a bright smile. "Looks like it's just you and me."

"Yeah," Rose said with a mixture of nervousness and familiarity.

The Doctor still had his eyes fixed on her. "Good," he said.

"Yep," she met the Doctor's gaze with a contented grin and continued to look his direction as he turned to pushed the button for Floor 500. When he turned back, he took her hand. All other feelings aside, this was how it should be: holding hands with the Doctor as they faced the next challenge together.

When they reached Floor 500 the walls were not made of gold. It was freezing and dismal. The Doctor asked her to go back down, but she was not about to leave him. Last time they separated he had to face his worst enemy alone. She didn't care what the danger was, she was sticking by him.

After a few more steps, they were captured by a man who called himself the Editor. He controlled everything on behalf of a giant alien in the roof called the Mighty Jagrafess. Rose wondered why everything had some hidden secret. Then she remembered what she had told Adam. When you traveled with the Doctor things were rarely what they seemed.

And then it was Adam who wasn't what he seemed. The Editor showed Adam on a screen. He had installed a portal in his head and was downloading information the way Cathica had, and this allowed the Editor to read his mind. All those questions she and the Doctor had answered for him, everything they had told him, the Editor now knew and wanted to use to re-write human history. But without the Tardis, the information wouldn't be enough. The Doctor would die before he handed over the Tardis, and she would too.

But on the screen she saw her Tardis key being lifted out of Adam's pocket.

"You and your boyfriends!" the Doctor complained bitterly.

Given the stress of the situation and the fact that they were about to die, Rose decided to let the comment slide. Besides, Rose was furious at Adam too, and "prat" was the mildest word that came to her mind to describe him.

But then something changed. Cathica had followed them upstairs but remained hidden. She linked into the computer system and reversed everything. She overrided Adam's download in the newsroom and reversed the system that kept the Jagrafess cool. Rose managed to get the sonic screwdriver out the Doctor's pocket and free him from his manacles, then he did the same for her. They made it downstairs with Cathica just as the giant Jagrafess creature blew up. The Doctor told Caprica that he and Rose were leaving but that things should change for the better now.

"What about your friend?" Cathica asked looking over at Adam.

"He's not my friend," the Doctor said, anger dripping off of every word.

Rose was not overly fond of the prat either, but as angry as the Doctor was, she was more than a bit concerned for Adam's safety. She followed after the Doctor in case she had to intervene.

"Now don't—" she started but she was interrupted by Adam as he tried to talk his way out of the trouble he was in.

"I'm all right now. Much better," he said as he saw the Doctor approaching. "And I've got the key. Look. It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" The Doctor took him by the back of the neck as Adam kept talking. "You know, it's not actually my fault, because you were in charge." Rose said nothing in protest as the Doctor shoved him in the Tardis and shut the door.

Nobody spoke as the Doctor set new coordinates with one hand still firmly on the back of Adam's neck. It stayed there till he shoved Adam out of the Tardis and into his own living room. Once there the Doctor destroyed the telephone answering machine. Adam had used Rose's phone to channel the archive of Satellite Five to his parents' phone, and that information could have changed all of history.

The Doctor prepared to leave with no further imposed consequences for Adam. Rose felt he was getting off easy. Adam begged for another chance, because he was stuck with the portal in his head. As demonstrated by the Doctor, a simple snap would open it. And then Rose understood. He'd have to live an unassuming life from that point on. She told the Doctor to stop snapping, but couldn't resist the urge to snap once herself.

* * *

"But I want to come with you," Adam begged the Doctor. But Adam the Prat had fallen permanently from his good graces. He was never welcome back. And no longer would the Doctor take in strays. As far as the Doctor was concerned, two was the occupancy limit for the Tardis.

He didn't think he could ever disclose his love for Rose and he didn't know how long she would stay. But he needed to at least make it clear where she stood in his mind, if not his hearts. Being a genius didn't make Adam special. Despite great intelligence, he was a fool. But Rose, who thought she was noting special, outshined every human he had ever met. "I only take the best," he said. "I've got Rose."

* * *

"So is this actually Middle Earth?" Rose asked in wonder as the Tardis made its fifth stop of the day to different points on the same land. "Every view looks like it came from a different chapter in the books."

The Doctor smiled. He was glad his destination had the effect on her he had hoped for. "Middle Earth is fictional," the Doctor said. "Tolkien was a master storyteller who painted vivid pictures with his words."

"I know it's fiction," she said. "I just wondered if this was one of those times when Tolkien unknowingly borrowed a story from another world."

"Not this time," the Doctor said. He took her hand as they walked the edge of a river and gazed at cliffs that seemed like they belonged in Rivendell.

"So where are we?" she asked in a hushed tone. "I can't believe there is a world that really looks like this."

"You've actually seen this all before," he said.

"No," Rose said. "I'd have remembered if we'd ever been to a world so beautiful."

"Come with me," he said, leading her back to the Tardis. Moments later they were suspended in the sky on level with the clouds. The Doctor opened the door. "Everything we've seen today was on one island group."

"Wait!" Rose said. Her smile let the Doctor know that recognition was setting in. "I've seen that island. We're on Earth! That's New Zealand! I'd forgotten the films were made here. But when are we?"

"1700. Before European settlers took over," the Doctor answered. Then he shut the door and landed the Tardis on a grassy plain.

Rose smiled as she walked out. "The Shire," she said in an awed whisper.

"You don't always have to go to the end of the universe to find something beautiful," he said. Rose was too busy taking in her surroundings to notice that it wasn't the scenery the Doctor was looking at. "Sometimes we miss what's right in front of us."

"Thank you," Rose said as she walked back to where the Doctor stood.

"For what?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know…everything," she said. She stood next to him but kept looking forward. "For ever asking me to come with you. For taking me to such wonderful places. For saving my life and not dying when I've tried to save yours." Rose said the last part with a whispered laugh. "For letting me make a bad decision and not saying I told you so when it all fell apart." Rose played with the ends of her hair that kept being tossed by the breeze. "For, for..." she stammered. She turned to look at him, and the Doctor realized she was near tears. "For believing in me, and never giving up on me, and being my friend." Tears were now streaming down her face.

"Rose," started the Doctor, but he had no idea what to say next. It didn't matter. Rose had stepped closer and put her arms around him. He could feel her hot tears as she rested her head on his jumper. He closed his arms around her, and for the first time in his life, lost track of time.

His picnic had been ruined. The bottle of Pinot Noir was buried in a room with other artifacts and clutter. His "date" had never come to pass. Shortly they would have to leave the "Shire", and danger was sure to follow. But for that brief moment, Rose Tyler was in his arms, and nothing could have been more perfect.

* * *

**Authors Notes:** A prat fall is a deliberate fall for stage and screen. It is so named because one typically falls on their "prat" - an old word for the rear end. In British English a prat is also a fool, typically an egotistical one.

Rose's attraction to Adam's hair was a foreshadowing. After downplaying the baby face and dimples, I had to leave something redeemable for her to like in Ten. I mean Cassandra lets us know that she was looking and liked it, but he's a bit pretty, skinny, and young after Nine. Just Sayin'.

"Fit" in British English has the meaning of "hot."

BAFTA is the _British Academy of Film and Television Arts_. Winning that award would be like winning an Oscar.

_Domaine de la Romanee-Conti_ is one of the most prestigious (and most expensive) wines in the world. At auction one bottle went for about $220,000. I want to know where the Doctor hides is money. That would for sure pay Rose back for the chips!

**Save your work frequently**, even when editing, or you will find yourself like me, fixing mistakes you already fixed because you lost power. Learn from Auntie Blue Wolf.

Purple Guest: Thank you so much for following and reviewing. Check back later for more specific replies here.


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